public health preparedness and response
APHL Biosafety Peer Network
Strengthens Connections
by Sean Page, associate specialist, Public Health Preparedness and Response
Since its inception in 2016, the Biosafety
Peer Network has facilitated 24 site visits
in 23 states across the US. During a site
visit, the visiting biosafety officer (BSO)
participates in extensive laboratory tours,
analyzes the current biosafety processes
and policies of the host laboratory,
evaluates the clinical laboratory outreach
techniques of the host BSO, identifies
areas that could utilize stronger
biosecurity measures and develops ideas
for improving internal and external
biosafety trainings. By participating in the
exchange, public health laboratories have
improved the implementation of their
biosafety and biosecurity programs.
Delaware-Minnesota Mentorship
Exchange
As a participant in any new program,
it is normal to have a healthy level of
skepticism. When the Delaware Public
Health Laboratory (DE PHL) was selected
as a member of APHL’s Year 2 Biosafety
Peer Network cohort, BSO Marion Fowler
felt concerned that “she didn’t have
enough time for another meeting” and
worried that since DE PHL is a rather
small laboratory, it would not be able
to offer the experiences of a larger
laboratory. But during her site visit to
the Minnesota Department of Health
Public Health Laboratory (MN PHL), she
encountered an unexpected benefit from
the exchange. She and Lundquist were
invited by National Ebola Training and
Education Center (NETEC) staff to visit the
University of Minnesota Medical Center
and attend their full-scale exercise. By
participating, Fowler was able to witness
a site assessment of an Ebola Treatment
Center and gather pertinent information
for the benefit of DE PHL.
Eric Lundquist, BSO for MN PHL, was
excited to tackle the new experience.
During his tour of DE PHL, he discovered
the laboratory has an excellent Safety
Committee. Upon returning to MN,
Lundquist followed DE’s example by
collaborating with Bonita Bryant, senior
quality improvement specialist for the
Infectious Disease Laboratory Section,
and other staff to form a Safety Task
Force, which meets monthly and includes
representatives from each lab section. The
Task Force addresses safety topics and
proposes solutions which are submitted
to leadership for review and approval.
By the end of their journey together,
Marion said that “this was one of the
best learning experiences in the 40+
years of my career. The sharing of BSO
ND BSO Tracy Hoke with AK BSO John Laurence and other AK
PHL staff members. Photo: AK PHL
experiences, procedures and testing
experiences ended up working both ways.
In effect, there were six total days of
learning experiences!”
Alaska-North Dakota Mentorship
Exchange
When it comes to laboratory biosafety
and biosecurity programs, biosafety
will often receive much more attention
than biosecurity. However, the exchange
between Alaska State Public Health
Laboratory (AK PHL) and the North
Dakota Department of Health Division of
Laboratory Services (ND PHL) proved to be
very biosecurity-centric.
During her site visit, ND PHL BSO Tracy
Hoke was very impressed by the security
and facilities management throughout
the facility. “The most valuable aspect of
the Biosafety Peer Network to me was to
see how a Tier 1 Select Agent laboratory
operates,” she said.
While conducting his site visit, AK PHL
BSO John Laurence learned how North
Dakota monitors key fridges and freezers
using a remote monitoring system. In
fact, his laboratory has been interested in
implementing a similar system in recent
years. “It was great to see the everyday
challenges and successes another
laboratory has,” said Laurence. “A few days
of seeing what they [BSOs] are really doing
means as much to me as a whole week of
training and networking” n
DIGITAL EXTRA:
APHL’s Biosafety Peer Network serves
as a common source of guidance in
standardizing biosafety and biosecurity
practices across participating laboratories.
APHL is currently accepting applications
for the Year 3 Biosafety Peer Network.
Read more.
APHL Biosafety Peer Network
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org
Summer 2018 LAB MATTERS
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