Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center wins $500K grant to increase care capabilities in event of serious infectious diseases

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) recently awarded Dartmouth Health's Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) a $500,000 grant to build its capabilities as a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center (SPTC). This grant will position DHMC as the only SPTC in northern New England (New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine).

SPTCs have the capacity to deliver specialized care to clusters of patients and serve as primary patient care delivery centers. Having this designation indicates that DHMC can care for patients throughout the duration of their illness. Nationwide, these designated facilities play a crucial role in NETEC's National Special Pathogen System, which ensures safe, high-quality care across the U.S. for high-consequence infectious diseases (HCID), such as novel influenzas, MERS and Ebola.

"DHMC has been, and will continue to be, the leading institution capable of providing HCID care in New Hampshire and in northern New England," said Gabriela M. Andujar Vazquez, MD, hospital epidemiologist at DHMC. "This award strengthens our position as a regional anchor of the National Special Pathogen System. It allows us to close the distance between higher acuity regional centers and community hospitals while improving regional resilience and national surge capacity to future HCID and biothreat events."
This grant will support efforts to expand access to specialized care and strengthen readiness through activities such as staff training, equipment acquisition and the development of systems for effective HCID care delivery.

To learn more, visit netec.org/nsps.