Department of Emergency Medicine

Clinical Biosafety Awareness Course

This one-hour online program is taught by Dr. Alex Isakov, an emergency medicine and EMS physician, who is the medical director for the EmoryGrady EMS Biosafety Transport Program. The target audience for the course is EMS providers of all types/levels/certifications as well as any other clinical personnel who may be exposed to patients with serious communicable diseases. The course aims to increase awareness about standard and transmission-based infection control practices and considers some past and present high consequence infectious diseases like SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome), novel influenza viruses, like H5N1, and seasonal as well as pandemic influenza. By increasing awareness about timely and relevant infectious disease threats and reviewing infection control practice, healthcare workers can better protect themselves in the workplace.

EMS Biosafety Transport for Operators

This eight-hour program of instruction is led by Dr. Alex Isakov, an emergency medicine and EMS physician, who is the medical director for the Emory-Grady EMS Biosafety Transport Program. The target audience for the course is EMS providers of all types/levels/certifications. Many of the learning modules will also be of value for other clinical personnel who may be exposed to patients with serious communicable diseases. The course aims to increase understanding about standard and transmission-based infection control practices and provides education about serious communicable diseases like Ebola Virus Disease, Smallpox, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome), novel influenza viruses, like H7N9, and seasonal as well as pandemic influenza.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program has funded Emory University to be included in its Infectious Disease Response Training Network.

The Emory-NIEHS Worker Training Program, based in the Department of Emergency Medicine, is delivering education and training for the identification and management of persons with serious communicable diseases across a variety of occupational sectors. Stakeholders in the state and federal government, as well as national partners from among professional associations and industry,  are working collaboratively to increase the availability of these programs in the emergency responder, frontline healthcare and public health practitioner workforces.

National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC)

The National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) is funded by CDC and ASPR to increase the capability of United States public health and health care systems to safely and effectively manage individuals with suspected and confirmed special pathogens. Emory Section of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine faculty are also faculty of NETEC. Dr. Isakov leads the NETEC EMS Workgroup and the EMS Biosafety Transport Consortium which includes EMS agencies in the United States who have successfully transported patients with high consequence infectious diseases and those who are the primary partners of the federally designated Regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogen Treatment Facilities.

Management of patients with Infectious Diseases

Section faculty are also federally funded to disseminate education and training nationally for management of patients with high consequence infectious diseases.

NETEC