The MedStar Washington Hospital Center Biocontainment Unit
Our state-of-the-art Biocontainment Unit (BCU) is a 6,800-square-foot space with 15 beds. The BCU serves as a respiratory isolation area and to care for patients with highly infectious diseases – including quarantinable diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers (such as Marburg, Ebola, and Crimean-Congo), and severe acute respiratory syndromes. The team and patients are continuously monitored by a protector outside the room watching through the glass and a safety officer on a live camera feed. Negative air pressure ensures that infectious particles don’t spread to the hallway or other parts of the hospital, preventing the spread of infection.
When not in use for biocontainment or respiratory isolation, the unit can be configured to observe up to 15 patients who need more extended periods of care than the ED can offer but are not sick enough for an inpatient admission. The space also has two special pathogen rooms where operations or labor and delivery procedures can be performed.
Construction of the Biocontainment Unit was supported with grants from the federal and state governments with overall funds supported by MedStar Health. In October 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded MedStar Washington Hospital Center a $3 million grant to serve as a designated Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC). It was one of three sites selected to expand beyond 10 existing RESPTC sites across the country.
Our BCU is a referral center for FEMA Region 3, which includes Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and we partner with Children’s National Hospital and Johns Hopkins to cover both pediatrics and adult patients.
MedStar Washington Hospital Center is part of the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center or NETEC, where a consortium of hospitals experienced in treating special pathogens share lessons learned with goals of driving best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources.
Special Pathogens & Emerging Infectious Disease Symposium - Big Success!
Dr. Richard Hunt from ASPR speaks at the Special Pathogen and Emerging Infectious Disease Symposium in Washington, D.C.
On October 5 and 6th, 2023, the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) and their RESPTC colleagues from Children’s National Hospital and The Johns Hopkins Hospital hosted the Special Pathogen and Emerging Infectious Diseases Symposium. This first time, two-day meeting was held at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. More than 120 health professionals from across the country listened to 28 faculty from various RESPTCs throughout the country, federal agencies, and educational institutions. The highly interactive presentations included single presenter and panel formatted sessions that touched on topics ranging from PPE, and collaboration among RESPTCs and their regional partners to patient transportation, Family Centered Care, and waste management. In addition to the highly rated presentations, the opportunity to network with other attendees was cited as a high point of the meeting. Funding for the Symposium was provided to the MedStar Washington Hospital Center RESPTC by HHS ASPR.
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Shane B. Kappler, MD
Medical Director, Biocontainment Unit
Email: shane.kappler@medstar.net
Craig DeAtley, PA-C
Director, Institute for Public Health Emergency Readiness
Administrator, Biocontainment Unit
Email: craig.deatley@medstar.net
Phone: 202-257-4714