Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals Respond to Bioterrorism

Medical schools and teaching hospitals are preparing medical students, educating residents and physicians, and making research contributions that will prepare the nation for biological, radiation, and chemical terrorism.

Northeastern Region

District of Columbia | Maryland | Massachusetts | New York | Pennsylvania

District of Columbia

George Washington University

The Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University participates in training for FEMA and the National Disaster Medical System and offers an International Emergency Medicine Program.

The university formed an Awareness Security and Preparedness (ASAP) Task Force to foster community awareness about terrorism, develop strategies for local communities to enhance security, and provide faculty expertise. The task force is made up of representatives from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the School of Public Health and Health Services, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the George Washington University Hospital, the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine, and the Medical Faculty Associates.

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, faculty in the Department of Psychiatry held community screenings to detect signs of post traumatic stress.

Contact: Barbara Porter, Director of Communication and Marketing, (202) 994-8110

Maryland

Johns Hopkins University

The Center for Civilian and Biodefense Studies is a joint venture between the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. The nationally renown center works to increase national and international awareness of the medical and public health threat posed by biological weapons, and to engage medical and public health communities in preparing to respond to biological attacks.

Faculty of the Center for Civilian and Biodefense Studies teach second-year medical students how to identify and diagnose key biological diseases, learn the methods in which they are contracted, and explore current treatment methods. Similar presentations at the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds provide updates to students, residents, other faculty members, and practicing physicians.

The School of Medicine is looking into a curriculum addition for 4th year medical students that would cover global, sociological, and political aspects of biodefense preparedness.

Contact: Joann Rodgers, Director of Media Relations, (410) 955-8659

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) is the only medical school in the U.S. dedicated to ensure readiness of the Military Health System. In addition to typical medical school courses, USUHS students take courses in military medicine. Many of these courses teach the effects of radiological, biological and chemical agents on the human body and what to do in the event of a suspected exposure—specifically detection, decontamination and medical countermeasures.

Contact: Mary Dix, Vice President for Administration and Management, (301) 295-1956

University of Maryland

Researchers at the Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) at the University of Maryland are evaluating a new anthrax vaccine for the National Institutes of Health. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, research trials at the CVD determined that the country's existing supply of smallpox vaccine could be diluted up to 10 times without losing effectiveness. A newly discovered stockpile of decades old smallpox vaccine will also be tested while research continues to develop a smallpox vaccine with fewer side effects.

The University of Maryland Medical Center conducted an emergency training drill to better prepare for mass casualties that could result from a terrorist chemical release and explosion in downtown Baltimore. The drill, held in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force Medical Service and area emergency agencies, included hundreds of faculty physicians, nurses and other staff. Research and training was coordinated through the University of Maryland Center for Homeland Security, which was created to expand the university's research initiatives, health programs and policy development related to homeland security.

Contact: Larry Roberts, Media Relations, (410) 706-7590

Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts

The infectious disease curriculum at the University of Massachusetts medical school trains students to identify and treat anthrax, smallpox, and other "weaponizable" agents. In addition, the university provides ongoing training programs for doctors and emergency medical service personnel, in the identification of and response to biological, chemical, or radiation agents.

Contact: Mark L. Shelton, University Relations and Public Affairs, (508) 856-2000

New York

Columbia University

The Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University offers two courses that bring the events of September 11 into the classroom. "Public Health Consequences of Forced Migration" deals with the consequences of forced migration resulting from "complex emergencies" such as political conflicts, drought, and earthquakes. In lieu of case studies, the professor for this course is using the events of September 11 and their global consequences as a real-time study of both domestic and international migration issues.

The "Emerging Infectious Diseases" course features lectures on bioterrorism and biologic events. This course will now incorporate examples from the recent terrorist attacks and subsequent concerns. Students have been assigned to write white papers based on the September 11 events as it relates to course subject matter and public health infrastructure.

Contact: Leslie Boen, Office of External Relations, (212) 305-4966

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Students at Mount Sinai School of Medicine developed a curriculum that incorporates most of the AAMC's recommendations for weapons of mass destruction preparedness. The topic is introduced during orientation when students are instructed on their role in Mount Sinai Medical Center's emergency preparedness plan and provided with the skills necessary to fulfill this roll.

Proposed curriculum changes in the first year curriculum include: small group discussions about ethical issues involved in a physician’s professional obligation to treat and protect patients and themselves in the event of a mass disaster; discussion of the basic principles of mass casualty triage; mass casualty surgery/vascular trauma anatomy lectures; and an introduction to currently known biological weapons. A small group of self-selected students will participate in a two-week course on clinical emergency medicine in an urban response to a mass disaster, concluding with a drill of the emergency response system at Mount Sinai.

An existing second year course will be revised to help students apply public health concepts to disaster prevention and preparedness. In the second year pharmacology course, students will learn about a variety of chemical warfare agents and appropriate pharmacologic treatment strategies. Third year students will take a focused WMD course. Three courses on disaster psychiatry will be added to the curriculum as well.

Contact: Debra Kaplan, External Affairs, (212) 659-9045

New York Medical College

The faculty at New York Medical College has introduced individual lectures on anthrax and other agents of bioterrorism into the medical school curriculum. The Graduate School of Health Sciences invited community physicians and members of area public health organizations to the broadcast of a program on anthrax preparedness, presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contact: Donna Moriarty, Public Relations, (914) 594-4536

North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System

The North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System has received nearly $1 million in federal and state funding to support a region-wide decontamination training program. Fourteen instructors from the North Shore-LIJ Center for Emergency Medical Services (CEMS) have received training from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Defense. In turn, CEMS staff are training personnel from not only North Shore-LIJ's 18 hospitals, but from healthcare facilities and response agencies all over the New York metropolitan area, including representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the City of New York Police Department and the New York State Police. Since October 2001, North Shore-LIJ staff have trained more than 2,000 people in various levels of hazardous materials decontamination and weapons of mass destruction response.

Contact: Terry Lynam, Public Relations, (516) 465-2640

University of Rochester Medical Center

The University of Rochester Medical Center was one of four institutions nationwide to participate in the small pox vaccine dilution project—a study of 680 people which showed that a diluted form of the traditional small pox vaccine is just as effective as a full dose in preventing the disease. Researchers in URMC's Environmental Health Sciences Center are studying dust samples from the World Trade Center collapse to determine potential health effects for emergency workers and New York City residents who were directly exposed to other debris.

In 2002, URMC hosted a statewide conference exploring how advances in basic biomedical science can have immediate and future application in the war on bioterrorism. Donald A. Henderson, M.D., former head of the federal government's Office of Public Health Preparedness and a 1954 graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, was the keynote speaker.

URMC staff are participating in bioterrorism preparedness initiatives funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aimed at developing secure communications tools in the event of a terrorist disaster and fostering local planning and preparation for a bioterrorism attack.

Contact: Teri D'Agostino, Director of Public Relations and Communications, (585) 275-3676

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Working since September 2000 under contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Weill Cornell's Department of Public Health has pioneered the use of sophisticated computer models to study the public health response to large-scale bioterrorist attacks. With over half a million dollars in research funding for this effort, faculty from Weill Cornell have been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and AHRQ to educate emergency management and public health officers around the country about the design and operation of antibiotic and vaccine prophylaxis centers. Additionally, Weill Cornell has provided technical support to the New York City Office of Emergency Management on bioterrorism-related planning.

Faculty from the Department of Public Health and the Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases have designed a two hour session on bioterrorism for the second year medical students in their "Basis of Disease" course. The course covers anthrax, smallpox, plague, botulism, tularemia, ebola, and other agents. Since September 11, there have been numerous panel discussions and grand rounds presentations for medical students and residents covering everything from the microbiology of bioterrorist agents to the psychological effects of bioterrorist attacks.

Contact: Jonathan Weil, Public Affairs, (212) 821-0560

Pennsylvania

Albert Einstein Medical Center

"Bioterrorism: The New Reality" is a new course at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, designed to educate physicians to recognize a bioterrorism event, and to recognize and treat anthrax and smallpox.

The medical center also developed, "A Primer on Bioterrorism for Physicians." This program contains an overview of anthrax, smallpox, botulism and plague, as well as information on how to recognize, contain, manage, and treat exposed patients. In this program a representative from Pennsylvania's Emergency Medical Services department discusses the role of the EMS and the state's physicians in responding to an act of bioterrorism.

Contact: Heather Neumeister, Communications Specialist, (215) 456-6125

MCP Hahnemann University School of Medicine

The school of medicine at MCP Hahnemann University held a one-day workshop for the public called, "The Threat of Biological Terrorism." Organized in conjunction with the city of Philadelphia, this workshop focused on the potential use of biological agents as weapons. An archive video of the event was made available online.

Contact: Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations, (215) 895-2613

University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

In order to include information on bioterrorism into the curriculum at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a one-hour workshop and focused readings were introduced into Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine/Critical Care Medicine clerkship, required for 3rd year students. Workshop topics included: mechanisms of toxicity, common agents used as weapons, differential diagnosis, syndrome recognition, decontamination, and treatment.

Contact: Margaret C. McDonald, Ph.D., Office of Academic Affairs, (412) 383-7474

Updated: November 2004

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