On February 9, the BCU team co-hosted a symposium on transportation for patients with highly infectious diseases at the American Society of Microbiology Biothreats Conference in Washington, DC. During the symposium, David Drewry from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) presented exciting new data from research that was conducted on the BCU. APL has developed a(...)
BCU Update
Starting the New Year Off Right
Posted by | Patient CareThe new year is off to a good start for the Biocontainment Unit. The nurses participated in their quarterly training session this month. Using a mannequin and other equipment from the Simulation Center, the nurses were able to practice physical assessment with a digital stethoscope, specimen collection from a central line, central line dressing changes and other routine patient care activities.(...)
End-of-Year Updates
Posted by | Patient CareOn December 15, staff members and providers from 11 departments at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center participated in our final quarterly preparedness drill of 2016. Visitors from the National Ebola Treatment and Education Center (NETEC), the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the Maryland State Department(...)
November Updates from the BCU
Posted by | Patient CareIn keeping with our educational mission, the BCU recently hosted the CDC to film a set of infection prevention training videos in conjunction with HEIC. It was a great opportunity to show off the unit, meet leaders from the CDC and share our unit and expertise with a national audience. Additionally, the BCU hosted its(...)
Join Us at the BCU Quarterly Staff Meeting
Posted by | Patient CareThe BCU has been busy training staff onsite, but also learning and training with other infectious disease experts from across the country. The BCU staff educator, a BCU staff member and members from Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control attended the National Ebola Training and Education Center’s (NETEC) Emerging Infectious Disease Preparedness Training in Atlanta on(...)
Team Building Month
Posted by | Patient CareSeptember has been team building month on the BCU. On Friday, September 16, the Department of Nursing treated the BCU team to a night out at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The following morning, BCU team members gathered at the Appalachian Challenge Course at the Park School of Baltimore, where Will Weiskopf and a team(...)
Drill Successes
Posted by | Patient CareThis past month has been a busy and exciting one for the Biocontainment Unit! On Tuesday, August 16, our colleagues at Lifeline, with the support of HEIC, conducted a successful transport drill with the military from Andrews Air Force Base to Walter Reed Medical Center. We are so grateful to our partners at Lifeline and(...)
Comings and Goings
Posted by | Patient CareOn July 1 the BCU said goodbye to Hailey James, our star program manager. Hailey was a core member of the leadership team who helped to build the administrative structure of the BCU and was instrumental in securing our federal grant funding. She has moved on to the University of North Carolina to pursue her(...)
Posted by | Patient Care
On May 11-12, the BCU team traveled to Emory University to participate in the inaugural meeting of the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC). The team met with representatives from the other eight regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogens Treatment Centers and participated in workshops designed to strengthen our current training and preparedness protocols(...)
Discussions, Drills and Training
Posted by | Patient CareIt has been a busy month on the BCU! On April 5, the BCU hosted a tabletop discussion with other stakeholders in HHS Region 3, including representatives from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, DC and the Federal Government. The tabletop addressed activation of the regional response plan and the potential transport of Ebola virus disease(...)