2202-A - Successful Collaboration for Improvement of Special Pathogens Care

Session Description: West Africa experienced the largest outbreak of Ebola in history between 2014 and 2016. As the US began receiving infected citizens in August 2014, hospitals and healthcare workers across the country began to prepare for screening and managing patients with Ebola. Safety is essential for the patient and healthcare team when caring for patients with special pathogens. To effectively manage these patients with special pathogens, it is critical that safety measures be in place. However, gaps within the US healthcare system became evident in 2014 after two nurses were infected with Ebola while providing patient care in a US hospital. In response to these gaps, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiated programs to address Ebola clinical care preparedness and response in early 2015. Ten regional Ebola treatment centers were established in the US to care for patients with Ebola and other special pathogens. These ten regional treatment centers were created to provide care across the life continuum, from in utero to end of life. Further, the regional treatment centers must be able to provide effective and efficient care throughout the patient’s duration of illness, from prehospital to discharge follow-up. In order to provide the highest level of care regardless of the infectious disease or diagnosis, one regional treatment center focused on collaboration with nearby hospitals in their network to meet the needs of patients with special pathogens. From maternal health, outpatient international travel clinic, and inpatient pediatric and adult care, the regional treatment center has relied on existing partnerships to provide optimal care and develop best practices to safely care for patients with special pathogens.