As project administrator for the Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit, Christopher Sulmonte spends a lot of time thinking about infectious diseases. The state-of-the-art facility specializes in treating patients suffering from Ebola, smallpox, SARS, COVID-19, and other life-threatening, highly contagious illnesses. The unit is also part of the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center, which prepares for, monitors, and responds to emerging outbreaks through a combination of clinical care, research, and education.
“A lot of our role is focused on how we can best support health care workers to be ready for what comes next,” Sulmonte said. “One thing that’s been incredibly important for us over the last decade has been a focus on how we can support not just our own facilities, but emergency departments throughout the country.”
Sulmonte explained all this to elected members of Congress and their staff at this year’s Hopkins on the Hill event, hosted in the House of Representatives’s Rayburn Office Building on Wednesday, June 11. He described how his team’s work literally saves lives, creating better outcomes for both patients and health care workers across America. He also discussed how federal funding, specifically support from the the Department of Health and Human Services, plays a key role in making this possible.