UAB Deep South Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training Consortium

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Project Summary In 2014, the world faced the largest Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in history. While there have only been four confirmed cases of EVD diagnosed in the United States, serious health and safety concerns for healthcare, public safety, and support service personnel have been raised. In the event of an Ebola outbreak, the responsibility for patient transfer, assessment, and testing will fall on the local healthcare and public safety systems. The Deep South region (Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle) contains a large number of medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, and health departments with limited budgets and limited access to professional occupational health and safety training programs. This has resulted in gaps in knowledge and skills in risk reduction and infection control procedures within the workforce. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Deep South Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training Consortium (Deep South Consortium) proposes to develop and implement safety and health trainings for public safety and healthcare workers, including individuals not working in direct patient care roles who may be at risk during infectious disease outbreaks in the Deep South region. The goal of this program is to provide integrated public health, medical, occupational health, and worker safety trainings that will equip workers with the skills and knowledge needed to protect themselves and their communities from potential exposure to contaminated materials or infected individuals whom they may encounter. Trainings will provide information on how infectious diseases are spread in the work environments and what measures can be taken to shield themselves from potential exposure. Additional trainings will provide information on infection control measures, other worker protection protocols, and practical, hands-on training using personal protective equipment in order to improve the skills and confidence of the workforce in responding to an Ebola or infectious disease threat. A Train-the-Trainer module will provide instructors with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to conduct trainings within their own organizations as well as to others in their field. This new cadre of workers will have the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the growing demands of the Deep South workforce. Overall, this program will allow training resources to be made available across the region and prepare workers to respond to public health crises and disasters.