Important JHM Ebola Preparedness Update

Dear Colleagues,

By now you have probably heard that a healthcare worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has acquired Ebola due to a breach in precautions. Though the exact details regarding how it occurred are still under investigation, we do know that contamination most commonly occurs when healthcare workers are removing personal protective equipment.

Currently there are no patients with Ebola at any Johns Hopkins Medicine facility. However, each JHM hospital is prepared and ready to give state-of-the-art care and to immediately implement safety measures should we have a case.

It is important to understand that at Johns Hopkins we have considerable expertise and experience in dealing with infection control and have developed standards, protocols and policies for the safest care and management of these patients based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Each hospital has identified designated units to care for these patients in order to minimize exposure and protect patients, visitors and staff members. We have reviewed and identified equipment to be used by healthcare workers and are currently involved in rigorous training for those in teams most likely to care for these patients and beginning training for other areas. We are also determining the most safe and effective processes to manage laboratory procedures and waste.

Please watch for periodic updates when we have new information to share. Be assured that we are actively monitoring the situation, assessing how we can best respond and updating our procedures to ensure we do our best to protect each of you and our patients and visitors.

Sincerely,

Gabe Kelen, MD
Director, Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response
Director, Department of Emergency Medicine for The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Trish M. Perl, MD, MSc
Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Senior Epidemiologist