1. Conducted
interviews
with
infectious
disease
experts
Infectious Disease Response in New Jersey
Healthcare
By: Elizabeth Seroczynski & Philip Echevarria
Government Relations and Policy; New Jersey Hospital Association
Purpose
To research the effects, efficiency and
response to infectious disease in New
Jersey healthcare and produce
suggestions for improvement
Significance
 West Africa experienced the greatest
Ebola outbreak in history and was
unprepared to handle the severity of the
outbreak.
 A total of 8 Ebola patients have been
treated in the United States, 2 of those
were nurses who became infected while
treating an Ebola patient
 The media hysteria over Ebola blew the
issue out of proportion.
 In 2016, the Zika virus was declared a
global public health emergency by the
World Health Organization.
 Zika is known to cause microcephaly.
 US hospitals were not prepared for
the potential threat of Ebola outbreak
which forced the creation of protocols
and Prepare & Protect Ebola Toolkit.
 CDC created recommendations for
travel, treatment, and environmental
control to prevent the spread of Zika.
 New Jersey launched #ZapZika
public awareness campaign.
 A Perspectives on Emerging Viral
Threats: Moving Forward from Ebola
conference and the One-Day Zika
Action Plan Summit are planned
 There was a media induced panic
in the United States about Ebola.
 New Jersey hospitals created
protocols and training sessions such
as the Ebola Toolkit.
 President Obama is pushing for
$1.8 billion in funding for an
expedited effort to develop a Zika
vaccine.
Recommendations
 Implementing a Zika Pregnancy
Registry
 A Registry could improve prevention
methods and clinical care for pregnant
women and their unborn children.
 Could provide info about
geographical differences in prevalence
and incidence rates
 Local townships should contribute
with mosquito control methods.
A special thank you to Philip
Echevarria, Samantha DeAlmeida,
and Marsha Gordon for your
guidance and support throughout the
making of this project
Researched
current NJ
hospital
protocols
and the
Ebola
Toolkit
Compared NJ
legislation on
infectious
disease
protocols to
other US
states
Evaluation
Methodology
Outcomes
Acknowledgements