PUBLIC POLICY
APHL Articulates Value of Public Health Labs During
Annual Policy Symposium, Capitol Hill Visit
by Honorata “Kuki” Hansen, MPH, DACVPM, manager, Regulatory and Public Policy
APHL’s eighth annual policy symposium
in Atlanta on May 14 was the largest
yet. Around 70 US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) participants
joined APHL staff and members for this
opportunity to network and share policy
priorities and challenges. The one-day
agenda opened with an introduction to
the public health laboratory system by
APHL’s president Joanne Bartkus and
updates from laboratories in Texas Utah,
Rhode Island, New York City, Washington
DC, Minnesota and California. A CDC
attendee described it as “state-visit speed
dating.”
Initiatives in vector-borne disease, data,
workforce, global health, advanced
molecular detection and newborn
screening were brought forward for
discussion, with Ewa King closing out
the day showing the strides Rhode Island
has taken in non-fatal opioid overdose
surveillance.
The next day, APHL staff and members
headed to Capitol Hill to meet with House
and Senate staff to discuss priorities
for member laboratories. This year’s
central message was the critical need
for investments in the public health
data infrastructure. Members shared
illustrative stories of lagging data systems,
such as continued use of faxes to send
results and valuable time wasted on
data entry for siloed reporting systems.
With both House and Senate considering
funding and supportive language in
authorization bills for these investments,
the opportunity for key Congressional
staff to hear from those on the front lines
was invaluable. n
top: Senior Director of Public Policy Peter Kyriacopoulos, along
with laboratory directors Jennifer Rakeman, APHL President
Joanne Bartkus and APHL President-Elect Grace Kubin
between visits to congressional offices
left: A full house of attendees at the 2019 Policy Symposium
DIGITAL EXTRA:
Review APHL’s program fact sheets.
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org
Summer 2019 LAB MATTERS
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