The UNC Special Pathogens Response Center (SPARC) at UNC Hospitals is a regional and national resource for safely caring for patients with a special pathogen. Get an inside look on how healthcare professionals prepare and train during an exercise at the UNC Medical Center.
The UNC Special Pathogens Response Center (SPARC) at UNC Hospitals is a regional and national resource for safely caring for patients with a special pathogen. The UNC SPARC team consists of a team of experts in medicine, nursing, laboratory science, and more. The goal of the program is to promote a culture of preparedness and readiness for special pathogen outbreaks. The response team of experienced staff regularly attends training and exercises with a hands-on approach to preparedness.
“We exercise and train not out of fear for the worst, but to ensure we are fully prepared when a challenge arises, said Brooke Brewer, BSN, RN, MS, CIC, Infection Prevention Program Manager, Special Pathogen Response Center (SPARC). “Preparedness and readiness are the keys to protecting our communities, our patients, and our teammates.”
SPARC is a part of a larger, coordinated network of 13 Regional Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Centers (RESPTC) spread across the U.S. The program is federally funded through the Administration for Strategic Response and Preparedness (ASPR) and its coordinating body is the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC).