History

• October 2014:

  Plans developed to prepare for the possibility of a patient infected with Ebola virus

• November 2014:

  ED staff trained on identification, isolation, and care procedures for a patient infected with Ebola virus

• December 2014:

  Negative pressure rooms previously identified for care of potential SARS patients rehabilitated for the care of Ebola virus disease patients

• 2015:

  Training program developed for Biocontainment Care Unit staff

  UTMB Biocontainment Care Unit team established

• March - April 2015:

  CDC/ASPR designate UTMB to be HHS Region VI Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center (RESPTC)

• 2015-2016:

  Construction begins on new state of the art Biocontainment Care Unit at UTMB

• May 2019:

  UTMB’s 6-bed Biocontainment Care Unit ribbon cutting ceremony

• March 2020:

  • Biocontainment Care Unit staff develop videos demonstrating proper PPE donning and doffing when treating COVID-19 patients for use across UTMB campuses and for EMS personnel
  • Provided Just in Time Training to clinical staff across all UTMB campuses in the proper use of Personal Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) for aerosolizing procedure
  • Biorepository for Severe Emerging Infections (BSEI) established, holds nearly 10,000 clinical specimens from over 100 subjects with detailed clinical data

• March 2020 – June 2021:

  • UTMB participates in the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT), leading to 4 primary publications including data which led to the issuance of EUAs for remdesivir and baricitinib for the treatment of COVID-19
  • SPECTRE faculty presented several seminars and lead the development of UTMB guidelines regarding treatment of patients with COVID-19

• April –August 2020:

  Department of Biosafety validated and started an N95 filtering facepiece respirator reprocessing program. Over 15,000 N95 respirators were reprocessed during this time.

• June 2020:

  UTMB onboards Clinical Characterization Protocol for Severe Emerging Infections (CCPSEI) for collection of biospecimens and clinical data from consented subjects with suspected or confirmed severe emerging infections

• July 2021:

  UTMB Department of Biosafety advises on infection control and prevention practices and waste handling for monkeypox case in Dallas, TX at the request of CDC

• May 2022:

  NETEC performs Annual Readiness Consultation for UTMB’s Biocontainment Care Unit