In many ways, UNMC is a different campus today than it was one year ago.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, forced UNMC faculty, staff and students to reevaluate and redirect curriculums, campus security issues and research projects.
“There has been a significant change in structure in response to Sept. 11 and the anthrax threats,” said Steven Hinrichs, M.D., professor of pathology/microbiology and director of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory.
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The changes include the creation of a biosafety officer position (Peter Iwen, Ph.D.), a professional and medical advisory committee for NHS and a security committee for UNMC. There are ongoing discussions on laboratory security, as well as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a computerized way for the federal government to better track international students. By Jan. 30, all higher education institutions must be set up to send electronic data about foreigners to the Immigration and Naturalization Service or risk losing their ability to host international students.
Bolstering security
There’s also been an intercampus effort to coordinate issues related to bioterrorism and security through the University of Nebraska Bioterrorism Preparedness Task Force. UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D, chaired the 31-member committee, which presented its findings earlier this year to NU President L. Dennis Smith.
At UNMC, all employees and students were required to get new photo identification cards this summer, and administrators are discussing plans to increase the number of card-accessed areas.
The impact on research
The events of last year also have impacted UNMC’s research efforts, Dr. Hinrichs said. A group of faculty members are focusing their research in the evaluation of biological agents that have the potential to pose a threat to public health. Their efforts will focus on the molecular and immunological characterization and on vaccine production.
The campus is seeking research funding in the area of bioterrorism. Phil Smith, M.D., professor and section chief of the department of internal medicine, section of infectious diseases, is working with the State Department of Health on bioterrorism education in the public-health arena.
An extensive inventory
For the past month, Dr. Iwen has done an extensive inventory of the bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins at UNMC, NHS and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL). The inventory is in direct response to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act of 2002, which was signed into law on July 12. Under this federal law, persons who possess, use or transfer specific biological agents or toxins deemed a threat to public health are required to notify the Department of Health and Human Services by Sept. 10.
Earlier this year, the NPHL became a registered facility to ship and/or receive select agents after an intense audit by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Curriculum changes
In the past year, the School of Allied Health Professions’ Physician Assistant Program has bolstered its curriculum by adding such topics as chemical agents used in terrorism, biologic agents used in bioterrorism, basic public health practices, public health community resources and how to improve public health standards and readiness in communities.
“Radiation science technology has always taught the harmful effects of radiation and how to handle it safely, but these topics have renewed immediacy since the terrorists’ attack,” said Mary Haven, associate dean of the School of Allied Health Professions.
Medical technology, she said, has always taught about anthrax; smallpox; Clostridium botulium, which causes botulism; and Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. However, case studies on these diseases have had more interest for students and more emphasis since Sept. 11. Medical technology also has an increased emphasis on molecular testing for more timely diagnosis.
In the College of Pharmacy, chemical and biological agents and issues are covered in students’ basic and clinical sciences, said Edward Roche, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Pharmacy. Until now, they had not been addressed in the context of bioterrorism, he said.
The College of Nursing is making changes at each level of the curriculum, said Catherine Todero, Ph.D., associate dean for the undergraduate programs for the College of Nursing-Omaha. The college has worked to prepare senior level students with greater knowledge of the Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System (OMMRS), a local group of government, medical and safety leaders working together to prevent or defend against a terrorist attack. College faculty members also are focusing on triage, rapid needs assessment, direct care and crisis intervention as they pertain to a bioterrorist attack. They also are focusing on the concept of community resources and disaster plan/policies related to bioterrorism.
“For the first time, students in the College of Medicine are receiving detailed instruction in diagnosing anthrax exposure and how to alert public health officials and law enforcement,”said Jim Booth, Ph.D., associate professor, pathology/microbiology.
Medical students will receive about six hours of lectures on biological warfare, Dr. Booth said, as opposed to 10-minute anthrax lectures they’ve had in the past. Pharmacy students also will have additional class time devoted to biowarfare issues. In addition, Dr. Booth is creating an online course module for second-year medical students that will deal with additional biological, chemical and nuclear terrorist activities.
“Because health-care providers have a high probability of being the first to recognize a bioterrorist event, students need to learn to recognize if a terrorist attack has occurred and what the immediate medical response should be,” Dr. Booth said.