TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 Response among US Hospitals with Emerging Special Pathogen Programs
AU - Vasa, Angela
AU - Pacino, Valerie
AU - Vasistha, Sami
AU - Elrayes, Wael
AU - Lowe, John J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Health + Hospitals, for their valuable comments and suggestions provided to improve the quality of this manuscript. The authors acknowledge NETEC evaluators Sarah Anderson-Fiore, MPH, CHES, and Chimora Amobi, MD, MPH, at Emory University for their technical support developing the survey used in this project. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, assertions, opinions, or policies of their respective institutions, the US Department of Health and Human Service, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. NETEC is funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, CFDA #93.825.
Publisher Copyright:
© Angela Vasa et al., 2022; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2022.
PY - 2022/6/1
Y1 - 2022/6/1
N2 - In February 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services developed a tiered hospital network to deliver safe and effective care to patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) and other special pathogens. The tiered network consisted of regional special pathogen treatment centers, state-or jurisdiction-designated treatment centers, assessment hospitals able to safely isolate a patient until a diagnosis of EVD was confirmed and transfer the patient, and frontline healthcare facilities able to identify and isolate patients with EVD and facilitate transport to higher-Tier facilities. The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) was established in tandem to support the development of healthcare facility special pathogen management capabilities. In August 2020, 20 hospitals that previously received an onsite readiness consultation by NETEC were surveyed to assess how special pathogen programs were leveraged for COVID-19 response. All surveyed facilities indicated their programs were leveraged for COVID-19 response in at least 1 of the following ways: NETEC-sponsored resources and training, utilization of patient isolation spaces, specially trained staff, and supplies. Personal protective equipment shortages were experienced by 95% of facilities, with 80% of facilities reporting that special pathogens program personal protective equipment was used to support facility response to COVID-19 admissions. More than half of facilities (63%) reported leveraging biocontainment unit staff to provide training and education to frontline staff during initial response to COVID-19. These findings have implications for planning and investments to avoid the panic-Then-forget cycle that hinders sustained preparedness for future special pathogens.
AB - In February 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services developed a tiered hospital network to deliver safe and effective care to patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) and other special pathogens. The tiered network consisted of regional special pathogen treatment centers, state-or jurisdiction-designated treatment centers, assessment hospitals able to safely isolate a patient until a diagnosis of EVD was confirmed and transfer the patient, and frontline healthcare facilities able to identify and isolate patients with EVD and facilitate transport to higher-Tier facilities. The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) was established in tandem to support the development of healthcare facility special pathogen management capabilities. In August 2020, 20 hospitals that previously received an onsite readiness consultation by NETEC were surveyed to assess how special pathogen programs were leveraged for COVID-19 response. All surveyed facilities indicated their programs were leveraged for COVID-19 response in at least 1 of the following ways: NETEC-sponsored resources and training, utilization of patient isolation spaces, specially trained staff, and supplies. Personal protective equipment shortages were experienced by 95% of facilities, with 80% of facilities reporting that special pathogens program personal protective equipment was used to support facility response to COVID-19 admissions. More than half of facilities (63%) reported leveraging biocontainment unit staff to provide training and education to frontline staff during initial response to COVID-19. These findings have implications for planning and investments to avoid the panic-Then-forget cycle that hinders sustained preparedness for future special pathogens.
KW - Biocontainment unit
KW - Biosafety protection
KW - Covid-19
KW - High-consequence pathogens
KW - High-level isolation unit
KW - Hospital preparedness/response
KW - Special pathogen preparedness
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U2 - 10.1089/hs.2021.0193
DO - 10.1089/hs.2021.0193
M3 - Article
C2 - 35584272
AN - SCOPUS:85131269666
SN - 2326-5094
VL - 20
SP - S31-S38
JO - Health Security
JF - Health Security
IS - S1
ER -