FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mary McIntyre, M.D., M.P.H., SSBB, (334) 206-5200
Sue Esslinger, Huntsville Hospital Health System, (256) 265-8317
Bob Shepard, UAB Hospital, (205) 410-0915
Jennifer Ekman, USA Medical Center, (251) 471-7262
In response to several national disease outbreaks, the Alabama Department of Public Health
(ADPH) is launching a serious infection disease network. The network will help identify and
appropriately route patients for treatment if an outbreak occurs.
A critical part of this network is the assessment hospital component, and three Alabama
hospitals will be serving in this capacity, Huntsville Hospital, the University of Alabama at
Birmingham Hospital and the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile.
“Handling these diseases that are new to our health system is a complex process that involves
many key players,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mary McIntyre, ADPH. “One of the more
critical components is the identification and testing of individuals who may be carriers of the
disease. For that we have partnered with these three hospitals to serve as assessment centers
in an effort to best focus our resources.”
Dr. McIntyre explained that if a suspected highly infectious disease occurs, patients meeting
certain criteria who are identified by other hospitals or health care providers would be
transferred to one of the three assessment centers for further testing. If the infection is
confirmed, the patient would then be transferred to a regional treatment center, with Emory
Medical Center being the closest to Alabama.
She added, “The state plan was developed based on guidance from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and each hospital worked within the guidelines to develop
comprehensive plans to effectively diagnose the individuals, while at the same time protecting
staff and other patients. Typically, an assessment hospital would only keep the patient a short
while before identifying the infection and transferring the patient to the treatment center if he or
she tests positive.”
“We really appreciate the hospitals stepping up to prepare for the possibility of infectious
diseases and exposures we may not even be aware of yet,” Dr. McIntyre said. “Among other
things, the hospitals have to provide isolation rooms with negative airflow and special protective
equipment for staff. They must also limit the number of staff who would be coming in contact
with potentially infected patients. I’m pleased to say that all of the individuals staffing these units
have volunteered to do so.”
“We welcome the statewide collaboration and the support from the Alabama Department of
Public Health to better coordinate our response to provide medical evaluation and care to
individuals with a suspected serious infection. This line of defense will help our communities,
our hospital staff and the patient population in all hospitals,” said Dr. Robert W. Chappell,
Huntsville Hospital Chief Medical Officer/Chief Quality Officer.
“UAB Medicine is committed to constantly looking for any opportunity to advance our mission
and enhance the services we provide our patients in Birmingham, around the state and
beyond,” said UAB Medicine Senior Vice President of Inpatient Services Anthony Patterson. “A
broad UAB team, including our experts in emergency medicine and infectious diseases, is
excited to be recognized by ADPH as a facility that is prepared to safely and effectively serve
this important role for Alabama.”
“As the region’s only academic medical center and Level I Trauma Center, USA Medical Center
is uniquely suited to provide this service to our community,” said Sam Dean, USA Medical
Center Administrator. “Our unit is a part of our overall mission to help people lead longer, better
lives.”
Dr. McIntyre notes that the creation of the network has been at least two years in the making
and involved a lot of time and resources, not only of hospitals, but also for emergency medical
service providers who will be providing the secure transportation for these individuals, the
medical waste companies who will be providing secure waste disposal and others.
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8/23/17