Sunday Newscape Magazine

Baltimore, Maryland - As always, Johns Hopkins' first priority is the safety and care of patients, visitors, employees and students. Experts and officials at Johns Hopkins Medicine are working closely with federal, state and local public health offices during this rapidly changing public health problem. The Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) has plans for emerging infections.

At this time, Johns Hopkins plans to have caregivers screen people coming to our outpatient center, clinics and Emergency Department, and all new admissions, for signs and symptoms of influenza-like illness. We will take all appropriate precautions to care for them while working to prevent transmission of illness to other patients, visitors and our health care team. We’ll do everything possible to conduct the screening with a minimum of inconvenience.

There are no known cases of swine flu in Maryland at this time. However, CEPAR's emergency response team and our infectious disease experts are monitoring the situation closely, and they are ready to add precautions if and when needed.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: Are all three hospitals in The Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) following similar procedures?
A: Yes. CEPAR is ensuring uniformity in the response of the three JHHS hospitals.

Q: What happens if a patient with Swine Flu enters JHHS?
A: Patients with proven or potential infections will be isolated and treated.

Q: Does JHHS have sufficient resources to treat Swine Flu cases?
A: We believe our resources are currently adequate but Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control (HEIC) departments in each of the three hospitals that make up JHHS are assessing the availability of treatment and protection resources to ensure we are well positioned to handle any flu emergencies.

Q: Has Johns Hopkins imposed any travel restrictions on its faculty or staff?
A: A plan for traveling and for persons visiting us, particularly those going to or coming from “hot zones,” is being developed. We will follow CDC and State Department guidelines for such restricted travel.

Q: Does Hopkins expect to get patients with Swine Flu?
A: The Swine Flu situation is very fluid. It is very difficult to determine whether this outbreak will affect Hopkins or the State of Maryland in any significant way. It is important to remember that there are NO known cases in Maryland or the surrounding states at this time.