The purpose of this proposal is for the awardee, Emory University in collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston, to support HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response by maintaining an Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center (RESPTC) for region 4.¿ The biocontainment unit at Emory University Hospital is supported by all of Emory Healthcare in partnership with Emory University. The expected outcomes of this project are to:¿
• Serve as regional leaders in developing, disseminating, and maintaining standards, guidance, and promising practices for high-quality, coordinated special pathogen care and for decision-making during a special pathogen outbreak.¿ ¿
• Build capacity for the National Special Pathogen System (NSPS) to accelerate special pathogen research, serving as a regional hub to conduct, participate in, and share insights related to special pathogen and clinical trial research.
• Maintain a trained, diverse, and specialized workforce across their region and the NSPS, serve as a regional leader in providing special pathogen trainings, explore innovative and flexible health care workforce solutions, and share resources and promising practices to develop and maintain workforce capabilities to respond to special pathogens surge events.¿
As the first biocontainment unit in the US, the first hospital to care for patients with Ebola, one of the leading institutions for the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, and a designated RESPTC since 2015, Emory is well positioned to remain the Region IV RESPTC. In addition to the RESPTC assets curated since the creation of the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit, Emory also serves as the Southeastern Regional Disaster Health Response System.