UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., will be discussing the Ebola crisis with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., today.
He will participate in an Alliance for Health Reform panel in the Senate office building entitled “Curbing the Ebola Outbreak: Are We on the Right Track?” In his portion of the presentation, Dr. Gold will assess domestic health system preparedness.
He will then meet with members of the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight in regard to the public health response to the Ebola outbreak.
Other panelists at the Senate briefing, which will begin at 11 a.m. CST, will include:
- Josh Michaud, associate director, Global Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation, will describe the global response, including containment strategy, proper surveillance, and best practices.
- Lawrence Gostin, university professor, Georgetown University Law Center, will cover some of the legal issues involved, such as forced quarantines.
- Peter Hotez, founding dean and professor, National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and president and director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, will speak about the effort to develop clinical countermeasures.
The briefing will cover a variety of topics, including:
- What is the current state of the Ebola epidemic?
- What are some best practices in countries that have successfully contained the epidemic?
- How could these lessons be replicated and applied elsewhere?
- Would we be prepared to rapidly detect and contain the disease if it developed into a large outbreak in the U.S.?
- Do local hospitals have the capacity and resources necessary if the virus spreads domestically?
- What is the status of Ebola vaccine development and distribution?
- What are barriers to containment?
- Could travel restrictions be useful in curbing the spread of the disease?
- What are the legal issues surrounding quarantine and other such laws?
- What other challenges do policymakers face?
The 11 a.m. CST Senate briefing can be followed on Twitter at: #Ebola2014