In late July, the Vanderbilt Health Employer Solutions team visited the Nashville International Airport (BNA) to inspect new changes to American Airlines gates, seating areas and planes based on health and cleaning advice from its Travel Health Advisory Panel that includes Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) infectious disease experts. VUMC’s Dr. David Aronoff, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases; Dr. Thomas Talbot, Chief Hospital Epidemiologist; Brent McDonald, Senior Vice President, Vanderbilt Office of Population Health; and Donna Skupien, RN, senior director of Employer Solutions, are a part of the panel, along other safety and operations leaders. While at BNA, the group also went aboard an American Airlines plane and observed the aircraft turnaround procedures, which include newly optimized disinfecting protocols.
The advisory panel have provided American with the latest information from public health authorities and scientific research as well as advice and guidance on disease prevention, cleaning procedures and other public health matters. The panel has also been instrumental in advising many stakeholder groups at American, including Fortune 500 customers, executives and partners, such as Boeing.
