Abstract
With an increased number of newly constructed high-containment laboratories and staff working in these facilities, the risk for emergency situations has increased, as has the need for systematic training of the emergency responders who assist during an emergency at a high-containment laboratory. With support from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense (SERCEB), Emory University developed the Applied Laboratory Emergency Response Training (ALERT) Program. In close collaboration with the City of Atlanta Department of Fire Rescue, Emergency Medical Service (EMS), and other emergency medicine professionals, staff at the Rollins School of Public Health developed a comprehensive training program aimed at bridging the gap between high-containment laboratory staff and emergency responders. Since March 2006, over 750 emergency responders have participated in the ALERT Program. Over 95% of ALERT Program participants demonstrated an increase in knowledge, with the average excellence rating for the ALERT Program at 4.45 (on a scale of 1=Poor and 5=Excellent). Additionally, the perception of risk that high-containment laboratories bring to the public, staff working in the laboratory, staff working outside the laboratory, and emergency responders was individually evaluated, with significant reductions in the ratings of risk occurring among individuals who had attended the ALERT Program. Long-term evaluation of the participants' knowledge retention, risk perception, as well as implementation in other locations outside of Atlanta, Georgia, is still needed.