In this episode we are joined by Infectious disease specialist Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the Founder and Director of the Centers on Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Director of the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON) . Dr. Bhadelia also has fron line experience providing direct patient care and participating in outbreak response during multiple Ebola outbreaks in East and West Africa in 2014 and 2019.

In the episode we discuss the the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the recent Andes Hantavirus cluster linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Dr. Bhadelia explains why the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is particularly concerning, including the lack of established vaccines and treatments, the challenges of outbreak response in conflict zones, and the growing spread into urban centers and neighboring countries. The conversation also explores how Ebola is actually transmitted, why healthcare workers remain at high risk, and how misinformation, unsafe burials, and limited resources complicate containment efforts.

The episode also touches on the recent hantavirus cases associated with cruise ship MV Hondius, current understanding of person-to-person transmission of the Andes Hanta virus, and why experts are monitoring the situation closely while emphasizing that it is unlikely to become a pandemic threat.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia is the founding director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases and a board-certified infectious diseases physician. She is an Associate Professor at the BU School of Medicine and a national expert in global health security, pandemic preparedness, and emerging infectious threats.

From 2022 to 2023, Dr. Bhadelia served as Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response at the White House, where she led U.S. interagency efforts on global vaccine donations and helped direct Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative to develop next-generation vaccines and treatments for pandemic-prone viruses. She also served on the White House MPOX Response Team.

Dr. Bhadelia has extensive frontline and research experience responding to outbreaks including Ebola, COVID-19, Zika, and other high-consequence pathogens, with work spanning the U.S., West and East Africa, and Uganda. She previously led the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, a state-designated Ebola Treatment Center, and is a co-founder of BEACON, an open-source outbreak surveillance network.

She currently serves on national and international advisory bodies including the National Academies and the World Health Organization, teaches global health security at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and has published in Nature, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Her expertise has been featured by NBC and MSNBC, The Atlantic, Time, National Geographic, and NOVA.

NURSES WEEK SPECIAL!!!

In our latest episode we are joined by Avital Rech who is the current Nursing Director of the Medical, Cardiac and Float Pool ICUs at Boston Medical Center. Avital joins us to discuss her role in nursing management, and her experiences and career path in nursing that led to her current role, where she is responsible over 200 staff members within the ICU. She also discusses what nurse management entails, the difficulties in balancing the needs of her unit and her nurses, while still trying to adhere to the budget and staffing guidelines of the hospital. She also discusses her research in early mobility in ICU and her work in lessening the physical restraints of incarcerated patients.

Avital Rech is an RN and current director of nursing for the Medical, Cardiac and Float Pool ICUs at Boston Medical Center, her 26 year career ranges from staff RN, to the Cardiac Cath Lab, to Float Pool RN, Rapid Response nurse and ICU RN, for the past 17 years she has managed three different ICU populations as well participated in multiple research studies in the ICU.

In our latest episode we are joined by Zania Campos, MPA, ABCP, Director of Emergency Management at Boston Medical Center, to discuss the critical role of emergency management, what it is, how it effects the way healthcare systems respond to disasters, and how preparations are made for a variety of scenarios ranging from natural disasters and terror attacks to biological warfare and nuclear attacks

Zania leads preparedness and response efforts for one of New England’s busiest safety-net hospitals. In this role, she oversees disaster planning, large-scale emergency exercises, and real-time incident command—ensuring the hospital system is ready to respond when it matters most.

Zania brings nearly 14 years of service in the United States Marine Corps, where she has developed the discipline, leadership, and operational mindset that continue to shape her approach to crisis response today. She currently serves with the Service Component Operational Logistics Augmentation Cell (SCOLAC) as an aviation logistician and joint mortuary affairs planner, contributing to the coordination and execution of complex sustainment and operational support missions.

In addition to her military service, she holds a Master’s of Public Administration and is a Certified Business Continuity Professional, bringing expertise in continuity planning, emergency preparedness, and coordinated response across complex systems.

Zania also serves as a board member on the Veteran’s Equality Review Board whose mission is to assist with the reinstatement of Veteran benefits for those were dishonorably discharged due to discriminatory reasons.

Zania’s “dominating against all” attitude drives her work in preparing for emergency situations and developing solutions to problems most of us never think about. She is with us today to discuss her role, what emergency management is, and what she does so the rest of us can sleep safely at night.

In our latest episode, we are joined by Rapid Response Team (RRT) RN David Ibbitson. David is an RRT nurse at Boston Medical Center whose role encompasses preventing critical patient events such as cardiac and respiratory arrest, responding to non-patient incidents where medical intervention may be required, and acting as a resource to all units within the hospital, as well as the many clinics and outpatient areas of Boston Medical Center. David helps explain exactly what an RRT nurse is, while also sharing some of his experiences and thoughts on this extremely important—but often overlooked—role within healthcare.

In our latest episode we are joined by the Co founders of The Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON). BEACON is dedicated to the rapid collection, vetting, reporting, and analysis of information on emerging threats affecting humans, domestic animals, wildlife, plants and the environment globally. BEACON combines emerging infectious diseases surveillance, a global network of moderators who are subject matter experts and the power of artificial intelligence and large language models. By using this technology BEACON provides even based informal surveillance coupled with custom tailored AI to aid in risk assessment, and near real time reporting. This technology can help lead to response from healthcare systems, bio preparedness and possibly the prevention of the next pandemic.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia is the founding director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases and a board-certified infectious diseases physician. She is an Associate Professor at the BU School of Medicine and a national expert in global health security, pandemic preparedness, and emerging infectious threats.

From 2022 to 2023, Dr. Bhadelia served as Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response at the White House, where she led U.S. interagency efforts on global vaccine donations and helped direct Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative to develop next-generation vaccines and treatments for pandemic-prone viruses.

Dr. Bhadelia has extensive frontline and research experience responding to outbreaks including Ebola, COVID-19, Zika, and other high-consequence pathogens, She previously led the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, a state-designated Ebola Treatment Center.

She currently serves on national and international advisory bodies including the National Academies and the World Health Organization, teaches global health security at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and has published in Nature, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Her expertise has been featured by NBC and MSNBC, The Atlantic, Time, National Geographic, and NOVA.

Dr. Britta Lassmann, MD is an infectious diseases physician, health technology innovator, and expert in disease surveillance, analytics, and digital public health applications. She serves as a Research Associate Professor at Boston University School of Medicine and is Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis, and Communications Network (BEACON), an open-source global surveillance platform that integrates advanced analytics and technology to detect emerging infectious disease threats in near-real time.

Dr. Lassmann trained at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Yale University. She went on to serve on the faculty at UCLA’s Division of Infectious Diseases and was Program Director at the International Society for Infectious Diseases. She is American Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.

She is also co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Global Second Opinion, a platform that combines artificial intelligence with expert clinical input to deliver rapid, specialized medical consultations online. Her work bridges clinical care, epidemiology, modeling, analytics, and technology to strengthen how outbreaks are tracked, understood, and responded to globally.

Dr. Lassmann has contributed to research on real-time disease surveillance, digital health tools, and infectious disease dynamics, including publications on outbreak risk mapping and data needs for surveillance systems.

In this episode we celebrate this joyous time of year filled with delicious foods, gatherings of family and friends, and all of the pathogens that happen to play Grinch with our holiday plans. We discuss respiratory germs to gut bugs, including salmonella, and the king of all food borne illnesses, norovirus, We also take some time to discuss our favorite Christmas songs, movies, favorite holiday traditions. You might want to stock up on Imodium and toilet paper after listening to this very merry episode!!!!

In our latest episode, we are joined by Allison Kaelblein, RN, MSN, CCRN (and soon to be DNP). Allison is a Nursing Educator in the Medical ICU at Boston Medical Center, in this episode she joins us to discuss her passion for and current work on ICU delirium. Allison explains what ICU delirium is, who is affected, what it looks like, and how it can be treated. She also describes her research on a new delirium assessment tool, which she will soon be defending as she prepares to obtain her Doctorate in Nursing. This is a must listen for anyone who is curious about delirium and all the questions surrounding this often overlooked complication of inpatient care.

In our latest episode we welcome new Host Mikayla Winn MSN as she speaks with Pulmonologist and Critical Care Attending Dr. Christopher Kearney. They discuss the convoluted and frustrating topic of Prior Authorizations. Prior authorizations were originally designed to be used by insurance entities to ensure high-quality, evidence-based, and cost-effective treatments, but have proven to be a time consuming, and what seems to be purposely difficult process that can lead to denials of treatments and delays in care. Dr. Kearney joins us to discuss his experiences and personal frustrations with the current "prior auth" process, how it works (or doesn't), and who it effects.

Dr. Kearney completed his undergraduate studies in Mathematics and Biology at Villanova University before earning both his MD and Master of Public Health from Harvard Medical School.

At Boston Medical Center, Dr. Kearney serves as a board-certified pulmonologist and critical care attending physician in the Medical ICU, where he provides expert care in areas such as organ failure, sepsis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). He also holds the academic title of Assistant Professor in Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

As a clinician-educator and health services researcher, Dr. Kearney is dedicated to improving outcomes for critically ill patients. He works closely with fellows, residents, and nursing staff, emphasizing patient-centered care and leveraging his expertise in pulmonary and critical care medicine to enhance patient outcomes.

Dr. Kearney has also been widely published in leading peer-reviewed journals, contributing important research and insights into treatment trends, asthma management, and critical care interventions.