Swedish Ballard recognized for its expansion of HIV testing among emergency department patients
The Swedish Ballard Emergency Department was recognized with King County Public Health' s first "Ending the HIV Epidemic Heroes Award" for expanding HIV testing among its patients.
For their work in expanding HIV testing among emergency department patients, the Swedish Ballard Emergency Department (ED) has been recognized by King County Public Health with its inaugural Ending the HIV Epidemic Heroes Award. The award was presented to the Swedish Ballard ED for its exemplary work around increasing HIV testing among ED patients. In naming Swedish Ballard the award recipient, King County Public Health noted that Swedish Ballard had surpassed all other participating emergency departments with a tenfold increase in HIV testing in the emergency room.
As an Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) partner, Swedish Ballard’s ED – along with other emergency departments county-wide – are working to increase HIV testing and link people to HIV care. According to King County Public Health, “emergency departments are often the only source of healthcare for some at highest risk for HIV, making ERs critical points of HIV testing and linkage to PrEP and HIV care.”
Matthew Golden, M.D., director of the HIV/STI/HCV Program at Public Health, Seattle & King County, presented the award to Providence Swedish Ballard emergency medicine physician Meghan Schott, M.D., at a July 19 ceremony at Swedish Ballard.
David Selander, M.D., executive medical director of Emergency Medicine, Providence Swedish, also presented an award to the Swedish Ballard ED team for their work in monoclonal antibody (MAB) infusions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After garnering recognition for their work around HIV testing, Swedish Ballard Emergency Department staffers were also presented with award for their work administering monoclonal antibody treatments during the height of COVID.
More than 1,080 MAB infusions were administered at Ballard ED between April 2021 and November 2022 to Swedish patients and others across Western Washington who wouldn’t have had access otherwise.
“MAB therapy was one of the first outpatient treatments we had for COVID that was shown to be effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths,” said Dr. Selander. “For a long time, it was our only option to treat high risk patients. The Ballard team recognized the importance of the therapy and made it happen.”
Swedish Ballard’s Marc Burdick, D.O., medical director and emergency medicine physician, and ED manager Dawn Boyd, RN, accepted a plaque on behalf of Swedish Ballard’s ED team; the award commemorates the impact Swedish Ballard made on the community by preventing hospitalizations and saving countless lives.
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About Providence Swedish
Providence Swedish has served the Puget Sound region since the first Providence hospital opened in Seattle in 1877 and the first Swedish hospital opened in 1910. The two organizations affiliated in 2012 and today comprise the largest health care delivery system in Western Washington, with 22,000 caregivers, eight hospitals and 244 clinics. A not-for-profit family of organizations, Providence Swedish provides more than $406 million in community benefit in the Puget Sound Region each year. The health system offers a comprehensive range of services and specialty and subspecialty care in a number of clinical areas, including cancer, cardiovascular health, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive health and women’s and children’s care.