Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital take part in nationwide exercise

Grady EMS arrives at Children s Healthcare of Atlanta Photo credit Jack Kearse Emory Strength Sciences Children s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital participated in a nationwide test of the ability to safely move patients with highly infectious diseases to regional healing centers The four-day large-scale exercise was called Tranquil Passport and it involved more than international federal state and local collaborators Led by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response ASPR a part of U S Department of Human and Fitness Services the exercise took place between June and June at airfields hospitals and urgency operations centers in Atlanta Washington D C New York NY Raleigh NC and Toronto Children s Arthur M Blank Hospital and Emory University Hospital are a combined Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Remedy Center one of in the U S with specialized training and capabilities to care for patients with highly contagious infectious diseases The exercise was an opportunity to test the new HHS Portable Biocontainment Unit PBCU the first domestic asset for isolating and transporting multiple patients with contagious infectious diseases via ground and air During the exercise two client actors were brought by plane to Raleigh and then to Atlanta by ground journey using the new PBCU which can transfer up to patients with highly infectious diseases at once In Atlanta one child actor with a simulated highly infectious ailment was transported by Grady EMS to Arthur M Blank Hospital and one adult actor with the same simulated disorder was transported by ambulance to Emory University Hospital both of which hospitals have specially designed units to care for patients with serious communicable diseases The Special Care Unit SCU at Children s Arthur M Blank Hospital is unique in the Southeast region and among scarce in the United States designated exclusively for children with highly contagious infectious diseases The SCU ensures that children receive comprehensive care that is safely delivered by expertly trained staff in a high-level isolation facility The SCU has six airborne infection isolation rooms with special features like uni-directional air flow to minimize cross-contamination designated rooms to put on and remove personal protective equipment PPE and a state-of-the-art audio and visual monitoring system to facilitate communication among staff providing individual care Our Special Care Unit within Arthur M Blank Hospital was specifically designed to ensure the safety of ill children and the dedicated robustness care unit providing around-the-clock care stated Dr Andi Shane division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Children s We are excited to participate in this international exercise and ensure our specially trained staff members are prepared to care for patients with highly contagious infectious diseases should an situation arise In Emory University Hospital opened the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit in collaboration with the Centers for Condition Control and Prevention CDC to care for scientists and other CDC employees at pitfall for exposure to infectious diseases Sharon Vanairsdale Carrasco director of the Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Healing Center at Emory University reported the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit company trains regularly to care for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases The opportunity to participate in this full-scale exercise through ASPR provided our organization with valuable experience and knowledge as we tested the new portable bio-containment unit for transporting patients announced Carrasco The PBCU will add an additional layer of protection and safety for patients and care teams when transporting patients with suspected or authenticated highly infectious diseases to regional recovery centers like ours Emory Healthcare with employees and hospitals is the preponderance comprehensive academic robustness system in Georgia The post Children s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Hospital take part in nationwide exercise appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta