In 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(...)
Biocontainment Unit
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(...)
Biocontainment Unit Summer Lecture
Posted by | Patient CarePlease join us for The Johns Hopkins Hospital Biocontainment Unit Summer Lecture on Friday, August 19 from 9-10 a.m. in Hurd Hall. Our guest speaker is Patricia Tennill, lead nurse of the Special Pathogens Program and assistant director of nursing at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Her talk, “The Importance of Quarterly Training and Nursing Engagement,” will(...)
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(...)
Preparedness Activities for April
Posted by | Patient CareThe BCU will be participating in two large-scale preparedness activities in April. On April 5, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) will host a Region 3 tabletop exercise at Johns Hopkins to simulate the transport and transfer to Johns Hopkins of out-of-state patients infected with Ebola virus or other high consequence pathogens.(...)
Welcome to BCU update!
Posted by | Patient CareThis is where we will keep you updated on the Johns Hopkins Hospital Biocontainment Unit news, events and activities. The unit officially opened on May 20, 2015, and has activated on three occasions: once for a patient in isolation and twice to run laboratory tests on potential patients. Shortly after opening, the Johns Hopkins Hospital(...)