PRESIDENT ’ S & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ’ S MESSAGE
Practicing Resilience from a Values-based Perspective
Resilience is a funny word in the world of public health laboratories . Often , we are asked — and sometimes forced — to cover emergency responses with the bare essentials of supplies , resources and staff . We are responsive to the emergency , we advocate for keeping that base of preparedness “ warm ” to be ready for the next emergency , and then we are taxed again with dwindling funding to keep the lights on . And the next emergency arrives . Wash , rinse , repeat .
Public health laboratories and public health laboratorians were thrust to the front of the stage in 2020 , 2021 and 2022 . The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) states that 70 % of medical decisions are based upon some sort of laboratory diagnostic testing . That awareness , while a bit uncomfortable , really cast a new light on the work of our member laboratories . Our members have become part of the health care provider network in the general consciousness . But unlike our colleagues in other health care facilities , we are still very much affected by the whims and winds of politics .
One thing we can do , both as leaders and laboratorians , is to maintain the awareness of laboratory science not just as a tool to be pulled out when there ’ s an emergency , but as a 24 / 7 / 365 partner to other health care providers . During the pandemic , many of our laboratory staff worked in tandem with other health professionals and federal agencies to provide drive-through specimen collection . From taking nasal swabs , to packaging and shipping to laboratory analysis and reporting , we were able to process a phenomenal amount of tests and distribute results quickly . We collected , we tested and we reported . And we tested — and continue to test — while ensuring that our day-to-day laboratory functions were still maintained . Now that we are on the other side of the response , we can look back and say , “ this is what got us through .” It ’ s more than just the funding , however , it ’ s the people we were with during the response .
When APHL first published its member values last year , we talked about the process in getting to those values . Even through the roller coasters of response , funding and personnel changes , the member values that we discussed and ultimately decided upon were very much apparent before , during and after the pandemic . The good news is that the pandemic did not change those values ; rather it helped cement them into the DNA and lexicon of the association .
As we approach the next federal funding cycle , we are looking at an unprecedented recission . Because of the support we received during the pandemic , we are facing a fiscal cliff in many states . While this situation for the association and our members is not a new one , we remain very concerned about the ability of our public health laboratories to continue to respond to the demands placed upon them . Innovations in technologies and equipment within the laboratory have been game-changing for turnaround times and ensuring quality of testing . Some laboratories have been able to finally staff up from dangerously low pre-pandemic levels of expertise and are now just getting back on their feet .
Scott Becker , MS , Chief Executive Officer , APHL and Timothy Southern , PhD , President , APHL
At the state and local level , our laboratory directors and senior staff are answering to a different level of the legislature than before . Before 2020 , it was harder to have a seat at the table when public health decisions were being made . Laboratory science , and scientists , were on the fringes . As we begin 2024 , however , we have a new , respected voice in those public health decisions . We help senior leaders understand things like PFAS and mpox for example , as well as the kinds of at-risk populations that are most impacted . We may now be on speed dial at the Governor ’ s office , rather than a card in an outdated rolodex in a chief of staff ’ s office .
All of our laboratories are connected to each other , through their work and through APHL . Through each temporary extension of federal funding because of the failure of Congress to complete the appropriations process , APHL ’ s staff are listening to federal partners and our members ’ feedback about what is needed to further the innovations of the past three years . The association is also in year four of an unprecedented workforce recruitment and retention initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan , having recruited 280 public health laboratory fellows and interns for our laboratories so far , extending some fellowships for an additional year . We also have early anecdotal evidence that fellows are finding homes as full-time or part-time staff in their host laboratories or other public health laboratories . We are committed to providing professional development opportunities for every staffing level of the laboratory — from packaging and shipping training and seminars on the newest microbiology testing , to our Laboratory Leaders of Today and Emerging Leader programs .
As this is an election year , APHL is watching and waiting but also considering changes that may occur . We are keeping our eyes on all forms of laboratory innovation while still presenting a respected voice to the public and our partners . g
2 LAB MATTERS Spring 2024
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