PRESIDENT ’ S AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ’ S MESSAGE
Maintaining the Status Quo in Changing Times
Q & A with APHL President Megan Crumpler and CEO Scott Becker
come so far forward from where we were four years ago , even two years ago , and right now we ’ re hoping we will be able to maintain what we have built .
Becker : We know that a change will be coming because of the end of pandemic funding , and we have been talking with policy makers about the public health fiscal cliff for quite some time . What we don ’ t know is what levels might exist in the future and unfortunately , we won ’ t know for quite a while . The government is funded on a continuing resolution through December 20 , and then there will probably be another one that will take us through the inauguration .
So how do you allow your staff to process what ’ s going on in the world , and still keep their eye on the public health laboratory mission ?
We have just come through a very turbulent election process and , in some places , people are still figuring things out . How does the turbulence around politics affect public health laboratories ?
Scott Becker : Political turbulence doesn ’ t change APHL ’ s work as much as you would think . It doesn ’ t change who we talk to , as much as it changes how we talk about the issues affecting our members . The work of our members continues — specimens keep coming , babies keep being born and , as we ’ ve seen in the last six months , the infectious diseases don ’ t stop . As a non-partisan organization , maintaining a good dialogue with all Congressional policy makers and with the new Administration will continue .
Megan Crumpler : National politics do affect state and local laboratories . For example , much of our grant funding flow in California comes from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) through our state government , and then it flows down to us . It ’ s the funding for surveillance work for hospital-acquired infections , for antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea and other surveillance activities that come from the federal level — which could be in jeopardy if there are any changes or reductions in funding .
Becker : When we talk about public health and politics at the national and local level , they are inextricably linked because we serve the public . And while the focus has been on the Executive Branch election , the reality is that Congress holds the purse strings for public health , and that ’ s where we place a lot of our focus for policy . Although public health is often seen as a left-leaning field , it isn ’ t . APHL and its members serve all the people all of the time .
Crumpler : Back during the pandemic , our public health emergency funding was supported by the Republican administration and Congressional leadership because it was a huge issue . We really gained a lot of momentum for reaching more communities with diagnostics , surveillance and technology innovations for our laboratories . We have
Crumpler : Without a doubt , it can certainly be distracting , and it definitely raises stress levels in the laboratory , regardless of the position . I think we can honestly say that we are exhausted by the process .
Becker : Agreed !
Crumpler : And so , we just try to keep focusing on our staff and what their needs are . Many laboratories are in the process of building or remodeling their facilities and technology , so we ’ re trying to generate and keep excitement about coming attractions . I routinely talk to interested folks about what we ’ re doing and let them know that there is a future in the laboratory for them , and that we are very proud of the work that we do .
Becker : The push to share public health laboratory stories is definitely there , and we are getting much better about not only sharing the results and data , but also the “ why ” of what we do . Creating the narrative about the impact of the work of the public health laboratories will also articulate the benefit of expanding this work and the certain harm that would
2 LAB MATTERS Winter 2024
PublicHealthLabs @ APHL APHL . org