Abstract
The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) emergency management program was developed after the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak to provide a framework for the responses to public health events. The program comprises three components (Site response, Continuity and Site support) that have adopted the Incident Command System (ICS) as their management structure and follows the four phases of emergency management. All program components have extensive competency-based training for staff and exercise plans. The emergency management program ensures quality and continuous improvement through its certification in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and structured review processes. This means that the Operations Centre can be activated and working at optimum capacity with highly trained and experienced staff within an hour of receiving notice to begin a response. The NML can also send mobile laboratories to aid Canadian or international efforts to address outbreaks or bioterrorism events.
Highlights
The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is a world-class infectious disease diagnostic and research organization and, in partnership with the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases, is home to Canada’s only Containment Level 4 public health laboratory
As the disease spread around the world, NML laboratorians attempted to identify the pathogen that would become known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS
Since the SARS outbreak, emergency management at the NML has evolved from an ad-hoc effort to an important function of daily operations and an institutional philosophy
Summary
The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is a world-class infectious disease diagnostic and research organization and, in partnership with the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases, is home to Canada’s only Containment Level 4 public health laboratory. Business continuity planning activities include developing alternative facility arrangements and surge capacity staffing programs that cross-train laboratorians to backfill those who are responding to events Activating these plans during an emergency enables the NML to provide the routine ongoing services to their clients. The After Action Reviews are integral to the program’s continuous improvement strategy as they include prioritized recommendations for improvement These recommendations are reviewed and approved by Senior Management and are assigned either to positions in the operations centre or to NML program areas. Their dedication has provided the opportunity to develop a program that addresses the gaps revealed by the SARS outbreak and garner strong buy-in from employees This has resulted in an institutional philosophy that the NML is not just a public health laboratory and a significant contributor to public health emergency response efforts in Canada and abroad
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