NYC Health + Hospitals Leads Simulation for MERS, a Viral Respiratory Illness

NYC Health + Hospitals Leads Simulation for MERS, a Viral Respiratory Illness

Oct 09, 2025

NYC Health + Hospitals recently conducted a simulation exercise to evaluate a portable isolation unit designed for rapid deployment during infectious disease emergencies. The exercise focused on standing up the unit, safely isolating a simulated patient with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and practicing infection control measures for a highly contagious airborne illness.

In the scenario, an adult patient presented to the Emergency Department at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health with fever, cough, and shortness of breath after recent travel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The patient's history included exposure to known MERS risk factors, including close contact with camels and consumption of unpasteurized camel milk.

The exercise tested the hospital team's ability to quickly deploy and operate a portable isolation unit-on loan from the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. This unit can create a temporary airborne infection isolation room (AIIR) when existing hospital isolation rooms are at capacity. The goal of this exercise was to assess whether this tool could serve as a practical and effective asset for managing patients with special pathogens in real-world settings.

Following a notional consultation with the NYC Health Department, healthcare providers practiced collecting nasopharyngeal and sputum specimens for diagnostic testing. During the scenario, the patient developed cardiac arrest, prompting activation of the code team and initiation of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocols within the isolation unit-allowing staff to maintain strict infection prevention and control procedures while delivering emergency care.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The disease can cause severe pneumonia and has a high case fatality rate, though human infections are rare and typically linked to travel in the Middle East.

The exercise was a collaborative effort between the NYC Health + Hospitals System Biopreparedness Program and NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health. The System Biopreparedness Program works closely with facilities across the health system to test new tools, technologies, and protocols with frontline clinical staff. This ensures that, before adoption, each asset is evaluated for feasibility, safety, and comfort of use by the teams who would rely on them during an actual outbreak or public health emergency.

"An integral part of our simulation involves testing out new equipment that allows our care teams to exercise their skills in non-traditional environments," said Dr. Syra Madad, Chief Biopreparedness Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals. "These exercises allow multi-disciplinary teams of varying experience levels to work together in a fast-paced environment which sharpens their skill-sets while offering opportunities to learn new things."

"We have learned that simulation education is invaluable for enhancing our team's performance," said Dr. Mark Kindschuh, Chairperson, Emergency Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health. "For example, if we are evaluating new equipment, simulation helps us to integrate the team into the process or working with this new equipment in the closest emulation of reality and this also tests our preparedness. When you have a situation where we are dealing with highly transmissible infectious agents such as MERS-CoV, the preparation and training of your team has to be optimal and simulation is a way to get there."

The portable isolation unit creates a negative-pressure isolation environment and is able to be assembled in 20 minutes. The product has three "glove walls" where healthcare providers can access the patient while remaining protected. Pass-through panels allow meals, books, and other items to easily and safety move from outside to inside the isolation environment.

NYC Health + Hospitals is one of the leading health systems nationwide, leading one of the nation's 13 Regional Special Pathogens Treatment Centers and its System Biopreparedness Program is recognized as a national leader in infectious disease preparedness and response.

Previous emergency preparedness exercises tested the health system's ability to respond to H5N1 (bird flu) and Marburg virus and to practice using the country's new portable biocontainment unit.

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About NYC Health + HospitalsNYC 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 https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.