The Illinois Department of Public Health has selected Rush and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children鈥檚 Hospital to serve as centers for treating the most dangerous highly infectious diseases.
Under two agreements with IDPH, the hospitals will upgrade their capacity to treat people suffering from high-consequence pathogens. The term refers to highly infectious diseases that pose a threat to public safety, such as Ebola virus, Lassa fever and pneumonic plague.
鈥溚岩轮辈 has a long track record of readiness for emerging infectious diseases that threaten our鈥痵tate,鈥 said Brian Stein, MD, chief quality officer for the Rush University System for Health. 鈥淲hile our preparedness was tested and proven during the COVID-19 pandemic, this work began well before 鈥 with our involvement in the Chicago Ebola Response Network and鈥痺ith years of infection prevention innovation through the CDC-funded Prevention Epicenters Program. These partnerships have helped us build the infrastructure and expertise needed to respond to public health emergencies. We are grateful for this vote of confidence from the state of Illinois.鈥
The agreements with the two world-class, Chicago-based health care leaders are part of a series of steps that IDPH is taking to strengthen its global surveillance efforts in the wake of the federal government pulling out of the World Health Organization and cutting funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human 脱衣直播.
Upgrading equipment, enhancing training
鈥淗ere in Illinois, we鈥檙e working to ensure our state is prepared to protect the health and safety of working families,鈥 Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to announce IDPH鈥檚 partnership with Rush and Lurie Children鈥檚 to stop the spread of highly infectious diseases and treat those suffering from the most dangerous infections. With this investment, we鈥檙e advancing treatment capabilities in two of our state鈥檚 premier hospitals and ensuring the best care for Illinoisans.鈥
Under the agreements, Rush will receive $900,000 in state funding from IDPH, and Lurie Children鈥檚 will receive $600,000. The state funding will help the hospitals maintain airborne infection isolation rooms, invest in specialized equipment and provide enhanced training for their medical staff to deliver safe and effective care to those infected with high-consequence pathogens.
鈥淚t is part of our mission to be continuously prepared to safely serve the medical needs of any child who needs our care, no matter their disease,鈥 said Larry Kociolek, MD, pediatric infectious diseases specialist and vice president of system preparedness, prevention and response at Lurie Children鈥檚. 鈥淭his generous investment by the state ensures that all Illinois children can count on us to have the resources, tools and highly trained staff that they need for high-consequence pathogen treatment at a moment鈥檚 notice.鈥
The federal government maintains a national network of 13 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs), but there is none in Illinois. The closest are in Michigan and Minnesota. While these centers are equipped to identify, isolate, and treat patients with severe infectious diseases like Ebola virus, transporting Illinois residents out of state to receive this specialized care is both logistically and clinically challenging.
鈥淚t is now more important than ever to build Illinois鈥檚 capacity to respond to current and future global health threats,鈥 said IDPH Director Sameer Vohra, MD. 鈥淐hicago is a global city, home to O鈥橦are International Airport, the second busiest airport in the United States and a primary point of entry for international travelers. We are fortunate in Illinois to have some of the top hospitals and providers in the nation. IDPH is thrilled to partner with Rush and Lurie Children鈥檚 to protect the public from any and all high consequence pathogens that may enter Illinois.鈥
Expanding state's public health protections
Illinois is taking a series of steps to upgrade its capacity to monitor overseas health threats, Vohra noted. This includes creation of a Global Health Advisory Coalition composed of Illinois healthcare leaders and the acquisition of customized reports on global disease surveillance from BlueDot, a service that uses machine learning to track infectious diseases.
The CDC provides guidelines for how to respond to high-consequence pathogens that include the use of airborne infection isolation rooms, engineering controls and environmental control protocols, as well as ongoing and just-in-time intensive training for healthcare personnel to ensure the safety of personnel and the patient.
Under the agreements with Rush and Lurie Children鈥檚, the two hospitals will be required to maintain the capacity to each simultaneously treat at least two patients with a high-consequence pathogen. This includes maintaining appropriate triage and transfer protocols with other local hospitals, specialized rooms and equipment, and appropriately trained staff.
Any outbreak of these special pathogens within Illinois would require a swift and decisive response from IDPH and local public health and health care partners. Even the management of a single case, from the standpoint of a public health response, would have state, regional and perhaps national implications. This underscores the critical need to build capacity to respond to current and future threats. IDPH鈥檚 partnership with these hospitals is an important step in keeping Illinois safe and prepared.
