Lab Matters Spring 2020 | Page 3

LAB MATTERS SPRING 2020 | CONTENTS Columns 2 President’s Message 3 Chief Executive Officer’s Message 10 15 Minutes With Rudolph Johnson Departments Food Safety 12 Standardizing Competency in Human and Animal Food Laboratories From the Bench 14 Applying Risk Assessment Concepts to Safely Test Patients with COVID-19 16 Strengthening United States Response to Resistant Gonorrhea in Wisconsin 18 Connecticut Improves Opioid Surveillance by Expanding Testing Global Health 19 Mapping Laboratory Capacity in Kenya for Global Health Security 20 Centre of Excellence for Equipment Calibration, Certification and Training Receives ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation Industry Matters 21 Casting a Wider Net in AR Detection 22 Meeting the Needs of Opioid Biosurveillance Newborn Screening 23 Virginia Holds First-Ever Newborn Screening Student Event Public Health Preparedness and Response 24 APHL Responds to COVID-19 26 The LRN: Positioned to Respond to the Next Threat 27 Response and Restoration: Public Health Systems in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands Workforce 28 Playing the Long Game: Sustainability in the Public Health Laboratory Workforce Fellows 29 APHL Fellows Assist with COVID-19 Response FEATURE 4 Biosurveillance: A New Tool to Combat the Opioid Epidemic The opioid crisis remains a public health emergency in the United States, with more than 67,000 drug overdose deaths in 2018. Forensic and crime laboratories provide data on fatal opioid overdoses, but a sole focus on fatalities omits valuable data that could be used to protect communities. Public health laboratories can play a vital role in battling this crisis by contributing their analytical capabilities and knowledge of public health surveillance systems. APHL LAB MATTERS STAFF Gynene Sullivan, MA, CAPM, editor Karen Klinedinst, art director Jody DeVoll, MAT, advisor To submit an article for consideration, contact Gynene Sullivan, editor, at [email protected]. The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the US and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. 8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 700 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.aphl.org APHL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Grace E. Kubin, PhD, president Bill Whitmar, MS, president-elect Daphne Ware, PhD, secretary-treasurer Richard S. Steece, PhD, D(ABMM), member-at-large Denise Marie Toney, PhD, HCLD(ABB), member-at-large Anthony “Tony” Tran, DrPH, MPH, D(ABMM), member-at-large Maria Lucia Ishida, PhD, associate institutional member representative Megan Crumpler, PhD, local institutional member representative Mark Wade, local institutional member representative Scott J. Becker, MS, ex officio, chief executive officer, APHL PublicHealthLabs @APHL APHL.org Spring 2020 LAB MATTERS 1