Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Page 33

PUBLIC HEALTH AND PREPAREDNESS RESPONSE

By Jill Sutton Hanratty , specialist , Emergency Preparedness and Response ; and Stormy Chester , specialist , Biosafety and Biosecurity

APHL Technical Biosafety Workshop attendees displayed their creativity with Play-Doh art .

As laboratory science , practice and policy continue to evolve , public health laboratories depend on a capable workforce to have the management skills , technical knowledge and leadership experience needed to effectively manage laboratory operations and embrace innovations . Workforce development for public health laboratory scientists is a continuous cycle to maintain competency and strengthen skills . Across the United States , many laboratories are seeing significant staff turnover , with such attrition resulting in a loss of institutional knowledge and leadership needed in the disciplines of laboratory preparedness and response .

In early 2024 , via funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), Center for Laboratory Systems and Response ( CLSR ), Division of Laboratory Systems ( DLS ), APHL convened four in-person workshops to facilitate professional development , enhance technical knowledge and provide leadership training to laboratory preparedness coordinators and biological safety professionals working in state , local , territorial and US-affiliated Pacific Island ( USAPI ) public health laboratories .

Enhancing Technical Skills of Biosafety Professionals

APHL convened three regional biosafety technical workshops in Tampa , FL , Pearl City , HI , and Richmond , CA , reaching 77 attendees from 24 states and seven USAPIs . These workshops targeted biosafety officers ( BSOs ) in state , local and USAPI public health laboratories and provided training on biosafety fundamentals such as risk assessment , risk mitigation , competencies , quality and outreach . During each workshop , APHL used an affinity exercise to provide a forum for attendees to share their priority needs and challenges in laboratory safety . APHL also tasked the attendees with identifying possible solutions they can then incorporate at their own institutions . Upon the conclusion of the three biosafety technical workshops , APHL observed common challenges :

1 . Inconsistent Biosafety Buy-in : Securing commitment on biosafety enhancements from both benchlevel staff and leadership can be challenging , especially when implementing additional biosafety protocols within facilities .

APHL would like to thank the laboratory directors and staff for assisting APHL with hosting the four preparedness workshops : Andrew Cannons , PhD , laboratory director , Bureau of

Public

Health Laboratories-Tampa ; Edward Desmond , PhD , D ( ABMM ), state laboratories administrator , Hawai ‘ i State Department of Health ; Anthony Tran , DrPH , MPH , D ( AB- MM ), director , California Department of Public Health ; and Emily Travanty , PhD , Laboratory Director , Colorado State Public Health Laboratory .

2 . Implementing Risk Assessments : Participants noted they are confident performing risk assessments with the training and resources they received ; however , they struggle with the implementation process of risk assessments within their facilities .

3 . Varying Biosafety Practices : Participants noted that biosafety practices varied across laboratories and as such , it is difficult to utilize information from other laboratories when they follow different practices for the same procedures .

4 . Lack of Training : Participants noted a lack of accessible and affordable in-person and virtual training and insufficient knowledge of how to conduct effective training within their facilities . Participants expressed a desire to improve their ability to deliver biosafety training to others in their facilities .

In collaboration with its Biosafety and Biosecurity Committee , APHL will

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