February 2, 2016

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Texas Children’s is set to receive a $1 million grant from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to put toward its newly constructed Special Isolation Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. The funds, to be delivered during the next five years, will specifically go toward Ebola preparedness activities that bolster employee safety and quality of care.

Texas Children’s began ramping up its Ebola preparedness and decided to build a special isolation unit almost a year ago, shortly after an unprecedented outbreak of the disease resulted in the realization that we must be prepared to handle emerging infections as an institution. As a result, the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Texas Children’s Hospital as one of several pediatric Ebola treatment centers countrywide.

Texas Children’s Special Isolation Unit is the only one of its kind in Texas and the southwest region, and is among the few in the United States designated just for children. Located on the fifth floor of West Campus, the eight-bed unit is fully equipped to care for any infant or child with a serious communicable disease and has all of the measures available to assure safety of the health care team, other patients and their families.

As a condition of the DSHS grant, members of the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) – created to ensure health care providers and facilities are prepared to safely identify, isolate, transport and treat patients with Ebola and other emerging threats. – recently visited the Special Isolation Unit. During NETEC’s two-day trip, members of the newly formed federal entity toured the Special Isolation Unit and spoke with leaders in detail about the formation of the unit, its capabilities and its potential usages.

“We were glad to have subject matter expertise tour our facility and provide knowledge and insight that will help us improve patient and staff satisfaction,” said Special Isolation Unit Medical Director Dr. Gordon Schutze. “They were very complimentary of the unit and told us we were fortunate to have leadership that is very supportive of doing what is best for their employees and patients.”

Once received, a portion of the DSHS grant will be used to compensate Texas Children’s for the Ebola preparedness activities undertaken since July 2014. Unit and West Campus leaders are working together to identify the best use of the remaining funds and how they can be invested to better health care professional safety and quality of care.

October 13, 2015

101415SIU640Pastel paint, shiny floors and spacious rooms equipped with the latest scientific and technological approaches to biocontainment are just a few of the features of the soon-to-be-finished Special Isolation Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. The 8-bed unit designed for children with highly contagious infectious diseases is part of an 18-bed expansion of the hospital’s Acute Care Unit, which will open in mid-October.

“We are very excited about this state-of-the-art facility opening and serving our community’s most fragile patients,” said West Campus President Chanda Cashen Chacón. “The unit allows Texas Children’s to effectively and safely provide the best possible care to a patient who has a highly communicable disease while ensuring the health and safety of our team and other patients and families throughout the hospital.”

The decision to build a special isolation unit came last year after an unprecedented Ebola outbreak, resulting in the realization that we must be prepared to handle emerging infections as an institution. As a result, the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Texas Children’s Hospital as one of several pediatric Ebola treatment centers countrywide.

Texas Children’s Special Isolation Unit is the only one of its kind in Texas and the southwest region, and is among the few in the United States designated just for children. Located on the fifth floor of West Campus, the unit will be fully equipped to care for any infant or child with a serious communicable disease, with all of the measures available to assure safety of the health care team, other patients and their families.

Each of the patient rooms, for example, has an antechamber, where doctors and nurses will put on personal protective gear. After treating a child inside the room, they will leave through a separate door and enter a third room, where they will take off the gear. Nurses will observe the entire time through large glass windows.

The unit also will have its own biosafety Level 3 laboratory, which allows for safe, on-site rapid identification of both usual and unusual pathogens. There’s also a separate medical waste room, where carts of used clothing and equipment can be wheeled inside 6-foot autoclaves.

Some of the unit’s additional features include:

  • Negative pressure rooms and isolated air handling
  • High-protocol workflows designed around a “clean-to-dirty” workflow
  • Observation windows into patient rooms to limit staff exposure
  • Specialized technology and communication devices to communicate as a team
  • Staff locker room where caretakers will show before leaving the unit after each shift
  • Child life play room for patient siblings and young visitors

In addition to a state-of-the-art facility, children coming to the Special Isolation Unit will receive top notch care from a team of highly-trained nurses and doctors. At least six members of the team, called the Special Response Team, will be assigned to each child, and one of them will act as a family liaison.

Children being treated in the unit will be able to use tablet computers to talk with their families via video chat, and will be able to see them through the large windows. To make the unit’s patients feel as comfortable as possible, a special doll is being developed that will wear a mini-version of the personal protective equipment the doctors and nurses wear.

The goal there, said Special Isolation Unit Assistant Director Dr. Judith Campbell, is to soothe even the youngest children, and help them understand: “Yes, we’re dressed up a little differently, but their little doll has similar attire on.”

The specialized unit will be led by Dr. Gordon Schutze, who will serve as medical director, as well as Campbell and Dr. Amy Arrington, who will be the unit’s associate medical directors. Sondra Morris will lead the team’s nursing staff. The unit will be run by a Special Response Team comprised of physicians, nurses, medical technologists and environmental service technicians who have been trained in infection control, hospital epidemiology and management of infectious diseases in the critical care setting.

“The team has completed up to 24 hours of specialized training to date to be ready to care for these patients safely,” Arrington said. “Additional training will be ongoing.”

When the Special Isolation Unit isn’t activated, it will be used as a new acute care unit for West Campus. Morris will lead the area when the Special Isolation Unit isn’t being used.

For more information about the Special Isolation Unit and the infectious diseases that might be treated there read this blog written by Campbell.

The finishing touches are being put on Texas Children’s Special Isolation Unit, an 8-bed unit designed for children with highly contagious infectious diseases. View the unit that is scheduled to open in mid-October.

December 9, 2014

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Texas Children’s announced on December 4 our plan to build an eight-bed special isolation unit at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. This unit will be designed for children with highly contagious infectious diseases, such as pandemic influenza, enterovirus D68, Ebola, and many others. Additionally, we announced the state’s designation of our organization as a pediatric Ebola treatment center.

About the isolation unit

This new isolation unit at Texas Children’s will be similar to the four other biocontainment units in the country. Such units are equipped and staffed to care for patients with contagious infectious diseases.

“We will build a state-of-the-art isolation unit designed and staffed to provide the highest quality care and treatment for infants and children with serious or life-threatening infectious diseases of public health significance, always with the greatest possible margin of safety,” said Texas Children’s Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline. “We believe this will be an indispensable resource to our local community, Texas and the nation.”

This new unit will incorporate all of the latest scientific and technological approaches to biocontainment, including negative air pressure, laminar air flow, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration, separate ventilation, anterooms, biosafety cabinets, a point-of-care laboratory, special security access, autoclaves and incinerators. There will be two levels of protection from airborne particles, as well as a comprehensive waste management plan, among other safety features.

It will be fully equipped to care for any infant or child with a serious communicable disease, with all of the measures available to assure safety of the health care team, other patients and their families. A point-of-care biosafety level 3 laboratory will enable the care team to monitor the progress of patients and perform rapid detection methods to identify unusual pathogens. Housed at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, the unit is anticipated to have capacity for eight patients, all in private rooms.

This specialized unit will be led by Dr. Gordon Schutze, who will serve as medical director, as well as Dr. Judith Campbell and Dr. Amy Arrington, who will be the unit’s associate medical directors. It will be staffed by an elite team of experienced critical care and infectious disease nurses and physicians, all of whom will have successfully completed an intensive advanced certification course and practicum in infection control, hospital epidemiology and management of infectious diseases in the critical care setting. The staff will maintain their certification through participation in ongoing educational activities.

Kline said Texas Children’s is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to design, build, equip and staff the unit, which is expected to be operational within nine months and cost approximately $16 million to build.

“I could not be more impressed with Texas Children’s desire to run towards issues of critical importance to the health and well-being of the children of Texas and our nation,” said Dr. Brett Giroir, director of the Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response and chief executive officer of the Texas A&M Health Science Center.

Caring for potential Ebola patients

Since the summer, Texas Children’s has been implementing a detailed plan to identify, isolate and treat suspected cases of Ebola, if necessary. As a result, following a visit from the CDC, the State of Texas designated Texas Children’s as a pediatric Ebola treatment center.

As part of the hospital’s preparation, specific protocols were developed outlining steps staff would take if and when a patient with Ebola symptoms arrived at a Texas Children’s facility. Additionally, in order to decrease the risk of exposure and provide the complex care required, the hospital identified specific areas and units responsible for caring for any patient with Ebola. The health care workers in those areas have received intense, ongoing training and simulation to help them prepare.

“This unit is part of the hospital’s long-term vision to care for children with the most serious and complex medical conditions,” said Michelle Riley-Brown, president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. “Our leadership’s decision to build this new isolation unit at West Campus speaks volumes about our staff and employees’ skill, expertise and experience here. Our agility and responsiveness were tested just a few months ago when we had a patient with suspected Ebola under investigation. Our handling of that case demonstrated our competency here at West Campus, and it boosted the entire organization’s confidence in the readiness across the system.”

West Campus staff and employess helped lead the way for the organization to refine our protocols for care, and now Texas Children’s will lead the way for centers across the country. If you have questions about the unit or an interest in being trained to be part of the care team that will staff this unit, please contact your leader for more information.

Return to Ebola Response site.

November 11, 2014

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Texas Children’s Hospital is working hard to prepare its staff and its facilities for a patient with Ebola or a similar infectious disease.

Isolation units have been designated. PPE has been purchased. Staff is being trained on how to use it. And, leaders are meeting regularly to assess the organization’s preparedness as it relates to the most current information available.

Another initiative in the works will give the hospital the capability to test for the Ebola virus onsite instead of depending solely on lab results from state and federal government laboratories.

Dr. James Versalovic, who heads up the hospital’s pathology department, said he is in the process of purchasing equipment that will allow his staff to test for Ebola and similar infectious diseases at the main campus. Being able to test for such conditions at Texas Children’s Hospital will enable medical staff to quickly determine and provide appropriate care.

Currently, lab samples from suspected Ebola patients are sent to the Texas Public Health Department in Austin and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia. Results are typically released within 72 hours. In the meantime, the patient is isolated and his or her symptoms are treated.

Versalovic said even with onsite diagnostic capabilities, lab samples from suspected Ebola patients still would be sent to the state and the CDC for confirmatory testing. Treatment, however, could be started sooner with the initial result in hand in hours compared with days. And, by ruling out Ebola more quickly in suspected patients, the correct diagnosis can be made more rapidly.

All onsite testing will be done at the main campus by a specialized team in a negative-pressure bio-containment laboratory. A similar unit is being planned for the west campus.

The goal is to have both labs ready and equipped to test for Ebola and other such diseases next year. The upgrades and additions will provide Texas Children’s with the best tools to diagnose and treat patients with infectious diseases, Versalovic said. The tools also will position the organization’s staff for effective patient care, optimal protection and safety.

 

Return to Ebola Response site.

 

October 30, 2014

Dear Colleagues,

For the past few months, many of us here at Texas Children’s have been focused on keeping each other and our patients and families safe in the event of a potential Ebola case at our hospital.

While I am proud of our efforts to ensure we will provide the best care to such patients while keeping our staff safe and healthy, I am concerned we have forgotten about an infection that is much more likely to affect us than Ebola. That infection is the flu.

More than 200,000 people suffering from the flu are admitted to a hospital each year. And more than 20,000 of them die. They die from a virus that a simple vaccination can most times prevent – a shot that takes mere seconds to receive.

Ebola has infected some 7,000 people and killed more than 3,300. Most of those infected with the virus are in West Africa. One person in the United States has died from Ebola, and he contracted the infection in Liberia. Two of the people who cared for that patient and became infected with the virus have been treated and released.

There is no vaccine for Ebola. That is why we have been working so hard to obtain the best personal protective equipment for our staff. There is, however, a vaccine for the flu, and everyone here at Texas Children’s should get one. Getting a flu vaccine is one of the simplest and most basic things we can do to keep ourselves and our patients healthy during flu season. It also is part of Texas Children’s incentive plans.

I implore you to take this responsibility to heart. Get your flu shot. Make sure everyone in your family is vaccinated, and educate those around you about getting vaccinated. It’s truly the best personal protective equipment you can wear during flu season.

Remember influenza vaccinations are free and available in Employee Health at our Main and West Campuses and will be available at the Benefits and Wellness Fair today on the Auxiliary Bridge.  If you receive your vaccination elsewhere, your Texas Children’s insurance will cover the cost.  Please remember to provide documentation to Employee Health & Wellness.

Information about where to get your flu shot is below.

Regards,

Mark A. Wallace

Get vaccinated!

  • Flu vaccines are available in Employee Health
  • Appointments are recommended, however walk-ins are welcome
  • Department or unit leaders may request a flu cart visit by calling Employee Health at 832-824-2151 or West Campus Employee Health at 832-227-1365
  • If you received your flu vaccine elsewhere, please fax your documentation to 832-824-2141or send via interoffice mail to Employee Health A5527

Main Campus Employee Health 

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Location: Employee Health & Wellness Center
5 Tower by the yellow elevators

Phone: 832-824-2150

Fax: 832-825-2141

Emergency: An Employee Health nurse is available after hours by pager 24 hours a day for emergencies. Call the page operator at 832-824-1000 to have an Employee Health nurse paged.

West Campus Employee Health 

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Location: West Campus, Human Resources and Employee Health, 2nd floor

Phone: 832-227-1365

October 24, 2014

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Texas Children’s had the opportunity Thursday to show the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention firsthand how prepared we are to handle a suspected Ebola patient.

Members of the CDC “Fast” team, which assesses readiness and provides feedback about any gaps in Ebola preparedness, visited both Main and West campuses. While there, the team met with various Texas Children’s leaders and employees who have been instrumental in putting together the organization’s Ebola readiness plan.

“We welcome CDC’s input and guidance as we develop an Ebola preparedness plan second to none in the nation,” said Texas Children’s Physician-In-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline, who was chosen by Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Wallace to lead our Ebola planning efforts and to create a model of preparedness here at Texas Children’s.

Kline has convened a core team of medical and administrative leaders to develop, implement and maintain our plans and protocols as the situation continues to evolve. He meets with Wallace daily and his team has been working closely with Infection Control, Nursing, Pathology, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine and Communications.

Texas Children’s started working on its Ebola readiness plan months ago in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The plan was tested in September when a suspected Ebola case presented at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Staff handled the case confidently and proficiently, diligently screening the patient, which allowed for immediate isolation as outlined in our protocol for handling suspected cases of Ebola. The patient ended up testing negative for Ebola but positive for malaria.

Texas Children’s continues to screen patients for possible Ebola exposure. The organization also continues to train staff on how to respond to a suspected case of the virus.

“I am confident in our rigorous, ongoing preparation efforts,” Wallace said. “We have a responsibility to our patients to deliver the best possible care at all times, but we also are intensely focused on keeping you – our physicians, staff and employees – safe.”

 

Return to Ebola Response site.

October 21, 2014

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Bright red signs asking patients if they have traveled to West Africa in the past 21 days were posted around Texas Children’s Hospital more than a month ago when the Ebola outbreak overseas continued to escalate.

A few weeks later, Thomas Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola at a Dallas hospital and later died. Duncan contracted the virus in Libera, one of three West African countries where Ebola has spread rapidly and killed thousands. Two of the nurses who cared for Duncan caught the infection and are being treated at hospitals in Georgia and Maryland.

No one has been diagnosed with Ebola in Houston, but Texas Children’s has been preparing for months in the event we receive such a patient. One of the first steps in that process is screening.

Staff in the Emergency Centers at both Main and West campuses and entry areas in the Pavilion for Woman are actively screening all patients for possible Ebola exposure.

Anyone who has traveled to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in West Africa within the past 21 days is considered at risk and is immediately isolated. After isolation procedures are initiated, additional screening occurs and Infection Control is notified. The patient must be cleared by Infection Control to be removed from isolation.

Any patient with suspected Ebola will immediately be isolated in a pre-designated room, Infection Control will be notified, and additional screening will occur. Once deemed appropriate, the patient will be transported to a pre-designated room where they will remain until their treatment is completed.

At the West Campus, the patient will be transported to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and cared for by the nurses and physicians there. At the Main Campus, the patient will be transported to the pediatric care unit and cared for by nurses and physicians from the PICU. Since patients will only be placed and cared for in these units, other units do not need to designate isolated space for Ebola patients or receive extensive training.

All patients transported to Texas Children’s by the Houston Fire Department paramedics are screened prior to arrival in the Emergency Center.

Our clinics in the Critical Care Center and at the West Campus, pediatric and OB/GYN practices, urgent care centers and other community centers are being educated and informed on proper screening protocols and isolation methods should a suspected case of Ebola present at one of their locations. However, the care of that patient would not take place within these facilities.

As for visitors to our hospital, we are not actively screening them for travels to the affected regions in Africa, but they all are screened on a routine basis for signs and symptoms of any infectious disease. This screening occurs before visitors are allowed entry into the inpatient units. The screening includes questions about symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, and vomiting.

Remember, Ebola is only contagious when a patient is showing symptoms. Because symptoms associated with the virus are severe, it is highly unlikely that someone with Ebola would be visiting another patient in the hospital.

Because this is a rapidly evolving situation, all screening practices are routinely reviewed and will change if necessary.

For more information about the organization’s Ebola preparations please click on the “Ebola Response” logo on the Connect intranet site and on the parallel external Connect news site at texaschildrensnews.org, which is accessible from any computer or mobile device at any time.

If you have questions about our plan or about Ebola, please email them to connectnews@texaschildrens.org. The communications team will route questions to Dr. Kline and the leaders of our response and readiness team to get answers and provide updated information to our organization.