PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
Biosafety and Beyond:
Laboratory Training and Mentorship in the USAPI
by Sean Page, associate specialist, Public Health Preparedness and Response
In 2018, APHL received a one-year
extension on its original three-year, $2.2
million cooperative agreement with
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) to strengthen biosafety
and biosecurity programs in public
health laboratories—which ended in May
2019. Over this four-year period, APHL
developed and delivered comprehensive
tools and resources to state, local,
territorial and US-Affiliated Pacific Islands
(USAPI) to provide opportunities to share
ideas and resources and build biosafety
and biosecurity skills of biosafety officers
(BSOs).
During the extension year, APHL
conducted four, one-day Clinical Biosafety
Forums where clinical laboratories were
invited to provide feedback on their
needs and the outreach efforts of public
health laboratories. In January 2019, at
the Hawaii Department of Health, State
Laboratories Division, a technical skills
building training was delivered in addition
to the Forum at the request of invited
participants.
Shanette Nixon (center) celebrates Lab Week with Guam Department of Public Health, Public Health Laboratory staff
During the training, public health
and clinical laboratory representatives
were expected to gain a better
understanding of:
• Conducting a biological assessment
• Assessing and selecting appropriate
laboratory personal protective
equipment and biosafety levels based
on risks
• Describing their laboratory security and
infrastructure
• Discussing training challenges and
needs of both public health and
clinical laboratories in biosafety and
biosecurity
• Discussing solutions to enhance and
improve biosecurity.
Shanette Nixon and Moe Sullivan receive a warm island
welcome at the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center in
American Samoa
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LAB MATTERS Summer 2019
Several USAPI participants thought that
these training and mentorship efforts
would be more impactful if they were
provided at their individual institutions.
So APHL evaluated its resources to
determine the best way to address
member needs.
Conducting Site Assessments
in USAPI
It was important to complete any
site assessments by the close of the
cooperative agreement. So due to the
tight turnaround time, the number of
islands that expressed interest in APHL
resources, the distance of each island and
each island’s specific needs, APHL hired
Shanette Nixon to conduct site visits.
Nixon is a highly qualified contractor
who holds a master’s in Healthcare
Administration from University of
Baltimore and a bachelor’s in Clinical
Laboratory Science/Medical Technology
from University of South Florida.
APHL scheduled consultations during
April 2019 with Nixon, Maureen (Moe)
Sullivan, Emergency Preparedness
and Response Unit supervisor for
the Minnesota Department of Health
Public Health Laboratory Division, and
Sean Kaufman, CEO of Behavioral-
Based Improvement Solutions. With
the assistance of USAPI staff, Nixon
conducted site visits in American Samoa,
Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
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