Lab Safety Considerations In Dealing With High-Consequence Infectious Disease

We are continuing our new series, Media Day, where we spotlight individual medical institutions and their infectious disease (ID) programs. This episode profiles Emory Healthcare.

When dealing with HCID such as Ebola, healthcare professionals have to adhere to the specific protocols and techniques to donning (putting on) and doffing (taking off) personal protective equipment (PPE). This incorporates everything from washing hands to placing the gown on as well as other PPE to proper removal and disposal of everything.

At Emory University Hospital, they are one of only a limited number of healthcare facilities across the US that can treat patients with HCID. Emory’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit (SCDU) was the first healthcare institution in the US to treat patients with Ebola. As such, their staff needs to be properly trained on donning and doffing.

Katherine Normile, ASCP-MLS, lab safety and quality coordinator, Emory University Hospital says they practice donning and doffing on a regular basis, and have people working in pairs observing how each individual is placing on the equipment.

“We want to really hone in, and watch out for the other person performing the task in that whole attire that the safety buddy can recognize, [and they can say] ‘Oh, stop right there. You have a break in your PPE,’” Normile said.

In terms of receiving specimens for HCID, Normile says they can turn around most tests within an hour where it is critical to get a diagnosis to treat patients in a timely manner. One newer training drill they have been working on is taking a specimen transport kit that has all the necessary tools for either the emergency room and or the sister hospital laboratory to transport the kit safely to Emory’s SCDU.

“We're training the staff to make sure either at least for the laboratory side to be aware of how to package and how to transport it correctly, so the contagion is kept safe,” Normile said.

In the final episode of the Emory series, Jill Morgan, RN, BSN, provides a demonstration on proper PPE donning and doffing.