Presenter Bio: Kristin King
Kristin King, DrPH, CPH, CBSP, CHSP, CIC is the Biological Safety Program manager within Environmental Health & Safety at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). She holds a Doctorate of Public Health in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences (minor in epidemiology and leadership) from The University of Texas School of Public Health (UT SPH) and a Master of Public Health in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences from the same school. Very uniquely, Kristin holds professional credentials in both healthcare and biological safety, and has published in peer reviewed journals in both fields. Previously, Kristin served as a Clinical Safety Coordinator and Biological Safety Specialist at UTHealth Houston and as a Laboratory Manager for a high containment laboratory at The University of Texas Medical Branch. Kristin.G.King@uth.tmc.edu
Presentation Description:
Bio Recovery professionals routinely interact with pathogens that are normal to human activity, as well as situations that may involve a high consequence pathogen. An important aspect of this work is to ensure successful decontamination of all items and areas that may be biologically contaminated to ensure safe return to the customer and to prevent further environmental contamination. Various disinfection processes are available and can be utilized based on the characterization of the pathogen and of the materials to be decontaminated. This presentation will review several of these decontamination approaches and specifically highlight the validation processes and tools used to determine and verify successful elimination of pathogenic microorganisms. Both chemical and biological indicators will be reviewed and discussed.