NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and NETEC Lead Regional Training on Special Pathogens Lab Skills
Specialized program equips lab staff with critical response skills in handling special pathogens
Apr 16, 2025
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) successfully hosted an in-depth special pathogen skills training for laboratory technicians and directors. This hands-on training provided participants with essential knowledge and practical experience in handling pathogens that cause high consequence infectious diseases safely and effectively.
The training featured a virtual morning session attended by 60 online and 30 in person participants that covered key topics such as an overview of the National Special Pathogen System (NSPS), packaging and shipping, diagnostic testing, and waste management. In the afternoon, 30 in-person attendees participated in an immersive hands-on training session, where they practiced personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing, waste handling, lab-specific special pathogen techniques, and spill management.
“This training plays a crucial role in ensuring that laboratory professionals are equipped with the necessary skills to respond effectively to special pathogen incidents,” said Vikramjit Mukherjee, MD, NETEC Co-Principal Investigator, and Chief of Critical Care and Medical Director of the Special Pathogen Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “By combining didactic learning with practical, hands-on experience, we are enhancing national preparedness and strengthening healthcare response systems.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue was one of three institutions in the U.S. that treated patients in the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and subsequently formed NETEC, a consortium to enhance national special pathogen preparedness. The other two institutions are Emory University in Atlanta and University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Bellevue Hospital also serves as the Level 1 Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) for Region 2, leading special pathogen preparedness and response efforts in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is America’s oldest public hospital, established in 1736. Affiliated with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the 851-bed hospital is a major referral center for highly complex cases, with 6,000 employees including highly skilled, interdisciplinary clinical staff. The hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and annually it sees about 103,000 emergency room visits, and more than 520,000 outpatient visits. Clinical centers of excellence include: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care; Cardiovascular Services; Bariatric Surgery; Designated Regional Perinatal Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Children’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program; and Cancer Services. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/bellevue and follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter).
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About NETEC
NETEC’s mission is to set the gold standard for special pathogen preparedness and response across U.S. health systems by promoting best practices, closing knowledge gaps, and developing innovative resources. Established in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NETEC was formed after the successful treatment of Ebola patients in 2014. It includes faculty and staff from Emory University, the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Medicine, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue—institutions that treated Ebola patients during the outbreak. NETEC was designated by U.S. Congress as the Coordinating Body for the National Special Pathogens System (NSPS), collaborating with regional partners and federal agencies to assess healthcare readiness, train providers, offer technical assistance, and build rapid research infrastructure, to address special pathogen incidents, safeguard public health, and bolster national security. Visit www.netec.org for more.
