The Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, is a network of international leaders in the field of microbial-pathogenic threat analysis, mitigation and response and recovery. GBAC provides services intended to assist individuals, institutions, companies and governments in assessing preparedness. It also offers education and training to respond and recover in critical biohazardous events with an emphasis on microbial containment and psychological surety.

History

GBAC started from a conversation among professionals in biosafety, infection control, forensic restoration and bio-decontamination and cleaning, in which they identified gaps within those industries that could be closed through collaboration. In 2019, GBAC merged with ISSA, the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association. Patricia Olinger serves as GBAC’s Executive Director. Olinger is a Registered Biosafety Professional, a Certified Forensic Operator and Certified Bio-Forensic Restoration Specialist, and has held board and committee leadership positions with US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

(CDC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the US

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH), the

American Biological Safety Association The American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) was founded in 1984 to promote biological safety as an essential principle and serve the needs of biosafety professionals. The Association's goals are to represent the interests and desires of pract ...

and the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association. Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, an emergency management and infectious disease expert, serves as GBAC’s Director and Jeff Jones is the Director of Forensic Restoration. GBAC’s Scientific Advisory Board is composed of industry professionals. In May 2020, GBAC introduced the GBAC STAR facility accreditation program on cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention.

GBAC STAR Accreditation

GBAC STAR establishes requirements to assist facilities with work practices, protocols, procedures and systems to control risks associated with infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

or COVID-19. It provides third-party validation to ensure the implementation of protocols across 20 program elements with specific performance and guidance criteria. Organizations that have committed to achieve or have earned GBAC STAR accreditation include: *

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Chase Center Chase Center is an indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building is the home venue for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and occasionally for the University of San ...

in San Francisco *

The Dubai Mall The Dubai Mall ( ar, دبي مول "Dubai Mall") is a shopping mall in Dubai. It is the second largest mall in the world after the Iran Mall by total land area, and the 26th-largest shopping mall in the world by gross leasable area, tying with ...

in Dubai, United Arab Emirates *

Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the worl ...

in Atlanta *

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college ...

in Miami, the home stadium of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) *

Hyatt Hotels Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a theater in Houston, Texas, United States. Opened to the public in 2002, the theater is located downtown on the edge of the Houston Theater District. Hobby Center features glass walls with views ...

in Houston, Texas *

Orange County Convention Center The Orange County Convention Center is a convention center located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1983 as the Orange County Convention and Civic Center, it is the primary public convention center for the Central Florida region and the second-lar ...

Overland Park Convention Center Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of ...

in Overland Park, Kansas * Red Bull Arena in

Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located from New York City. As of the 202 ...

STAPLES Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

in Downtown Los Angeles“Staples Center is the First US Arena to Receive Outbreak Response Accreditation”.
Billboard. Valence Media, LLC. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.

References

{{reflist Companies based in Northbrook, Illinois