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CEPAR
Johns Hopkins University
5801 Smith Avenue
Davis Building · Suite 3220
Baltimore, MD 21209
Phone: 410.735.6450
Fax: 410.735.6440
Directions to CEPAR (PDF)
News of Interest
Christina Catlett Featured on Megyn Kelly Today
Christina Catlett, M.D., appeared on Megyn Kelly Today in November. Catlett is the director of the Johns Hopkins Go Team, which deployed in September and October 2017 to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, on a medical mission in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Check out the segment from the show.
Research Shows Current Biocontainment Unit Waste-Handling Processes May Be Ineffective
A team of researchers, including Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., senior director of infection prevention for the Johns Hopkins Health System and senior adviser and subject matter expert for the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR); Brian Garibaldi, M.D., the associate medical director for The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Biocontainment Unit; and Lauren Sauer, M.S., program manager for the National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response (PACER), published a manuscript in December 2016 in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. In their research, they found that factory default settings on the steam sterilizer used to decontaminate patient waste from the hospital’s Biocontainment Unit are potentially ineffective. The lessons learned from this study could inform waste management protocols to ensure effective sterilization.
CEPAR and Center for Naval Analyses Receive $1.5 Million Grant in Effort to Strengthen Federal Emergency Preparedness Program
CEPAR, in collaboration with the Center for Naval Analyses, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine ways to strengthen the foundation of the national Incident Management Training and Development Program. The project, co-led by Edbert Hsu, M.D., M.P.H., along with co-investigators from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, will be conducted over a three-year period. It will encompass a systematic review of best practices in training and exercise, a user-based survey of current practices among public health response leadership, and extensive field observations of various local and federal exercises to examine practical applications of incident management knowledge and skills.
Johns Hopkins Medicine Receives Honor for Ebola Communications
Johns Hopkins Medicine Marketing and Communications has earned special recognition in the category of Crisis Communications for its submission relating to Ebola virus disease communications. In January 2016, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Group on Institutional Advancement awarded the Marketing and Communications team with an honorable mention in the organization’s 2016 Awards for Excellence competition in the Special Projects, Programs or Campaigns, C. Communications/Public Relations category. According to a representative from organization, the more than 150-page entry “was deemed a fantastic example of a crisis communication plan by [AAMC’s] prior awards chair and [AAMC] judges on-site.”
Biocontainment Unit Article Published
Members of CEPAR, including Gabe Kelen, CEPAR director; Howard Gwon, senior director for the Office of Emergency Management for Johns Hopkins Medicine; and Lauren Sauer, program manager for the National Center for the Study of Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response (PACER), joined Johns Hopkins Medicine faculty and staff members to publish an article in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society in May 2016. The article focuses on the biocontainment unit created by Johns Hopkins Medicine to care for patients with highly infectious diseases, such as Ebola virus disease.
CEPAR Leads Disaster Drill at Middle East Hospital
Photo courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine
International
CEPAR recently led a disaster drill at Al Rahba Hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a hospital affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, the global arm of Johns Hopkins Medicine. The goal of the drill was to assist Al Rahba Hospital in preparing for emergency situations. Members of CEPAR planned the disaster drill and were on hand for the event, which focused on a potential scenario of a multivehicle motor crash. After the drill, a formal assessment was presented to hospital leadership.
View a video about the disaster drill.
View an article about the drill.
Hopkins Heroes Honored at White House
CEPAR Associate Director Thomas Kirsch, M.D. (far right) and CEPAR Senior Advisor Trish Perl, M.D. (far left) were among Johns Hopkins faculty thanked for their international public health service in the effort to stop Ebola by President Obama during a speech at the White House Oct. 29. Others pictured here from Johns Hopkins that were honored at the event are: David Peters, M.D. and Susan Krenn.
See a video of the President's speech.
Dr. Kelen and Dr. Catlett Publish Paper on Hospital Shootings
While shootings in U.S. hospitals typically generate widespread media publicity, the likelihood of being shot in a hospital is less than the chance of getting struck by lightning, according to Johns Hopkins research.
In a report published Sept. 18 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, and conducted by four researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the investigators reviewed 11-years of data and identified some disturbing flashpoints.