Association of Public Health Laboratories

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY WILL USE THE FUNDS AWARDED TO IMPLEMENT THENEWBORN HEARING SCREENING AND DRIED BLOOD SPOT NEWBORN SCREENINGQUALITY IMPROVEMENT LEARNING COLLABORATIVE. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDEPLANNING AND HOLDING A KICK-OFF MEETING FOR TEAMS TO CREATE PLAN-DO-STUDY-ACT (PDSA) CYCLES IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A PROMISING PRACTICE GUIDE TO BESHARED WITH VARIOUS AUDIENCES.

THE INTERN WILL WORK PRIMARILY IN THE TRACE ELEMENTS LABORATORY, PART OF THE DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES. THE SPECIFIC PROJECT CONCEPT IS TO MEASURE TOTAL SILVER IN INFANT/TODDLER FOOD PRODUCTS PURCHASED IN THE ALBANY, NY AREAS AS A PROXY FOR SILVER NANOPARTICLES.

THE VIRGINIA NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NEWBORN SCREENING RESULTS REPORTED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF LIFE AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES RECEIVED WITH MISSING OR ILLEGIBLE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY 1) PARTNERING WITH ICONNECT CONSULTING TO IMPLEMENT NEWLY DEVELOPED ELECTRONIC MESSAGING SOLUTIONS AT NO INITIAL COST TO THE THREE OR MORE HOSPITALS SERVING AS BETA SITES; AND BY 2) EXPANDING THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE EXISTING DCLS WEB PORTAL (DCLSCONNECT) TO FACILITATE THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF NBS ORDERS AND RETRIEVAL OF NBS RESULTS IN ORDER TO MAKE ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE AVAILABLE TO SMALLER, LOW-VOLUME SUBMITTERS SUCH AS RURAL COMMUNITY HOSPITALS, MIDWIVES AND PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL THREATS (LRN-B) THREAT AGENTS.

APHL IS PILOTING A REGIONAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTION HUB MODEL FOR RECRUITING AND HOSTING FELLOWS AND INTERNS IN PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY SCIENCE. THE GOAL OF THIS APPROACH IS TO ACHIEVE A SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL MODEL WHERE FELLOWS AND INTERNS ARE PLACED IN PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES AS WELL AS IN ACADEMIC LABORATORIES WHERE FELLOW PROJECTS SERVE A PUBLIC HEALTH FUNCTION. POSITIONS WILL BE FUNDED BY APHL AT EACH HUB LABORATORY AS PART OF THIS PILOT

TO SUPPORT THE OPERATION OF THE ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY (ALD) NATIONAL REGISTRY. TO PARTNER WITH STATE NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE ALD DATA FOR THE INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED BY THE NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM. THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL HOST A MULTI-DAY MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS NEWBORN SCREENING MEETING.

THE PUERTO RICO (PR) NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM WILL:(1) VALIDATE AND IMPLEMENT A SECOND-TIER TESTING FOR ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY (ALD) USING THE NEWMS SYSTEM TO MONITOR ALD IN 100% OF THE POPULATION.(2) INCREASE AND SUSTAIN THE PERCENTAGE OF SAMPLES REPORTED TO FOLLOW-UP IN 3 DAYS OR LESS FROM THEWORKLIST DATE FROM 91% TO 95% BY USING THE NEW MS SYSTEM.

THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PRENATAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE IN MICHIGAN, SO THAT PARENTS ARE MORE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NBS PROCESS. MDHHS WILL CREATE AND IMPLEMENT A NEW EDUCATIONAL CHECKLIST DURING THE PRENATAL PERIOD THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THREE BIRTHING HOSPITALS WITH THE GOAL OF IMPROVING PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE NBS AND BIOTRUST PROGRAMS.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL (LRN-B) AND CHEMICAL (LRN-C) THREAT AGENTS. THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL DEVELOP AND TEST MACHINE LEARNING CLASSIFICATION SUPPORT ALGORITHMS FOR AMINO ACID AND ACYLCARNITINE DISORDERS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM WILL IDENTIFY STATE-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN ACUTE CARE USE AND INITIAL AND FOLLOW-UP HEMATOLOGY APPOINTMENTS FOR CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD) THROUGH NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) IN FOUR STATES BY USING THE SICKLE CELL DATA COLLECTION (SCDC) PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM TEAM WILL ALSO USE QUALITATIVE METHODS TO EXPLORE THE EXPERIENCES WITHIN STATE NBS PROGRAMS FOLLOW-UP PRACTICES FOR SCD AND VALIDATE HOW SCDC DATA CAN BE USED TO INFORM CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN NBS FOLLOW-UP.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT GENETIC TESTING AS A STANDARD COMPONENT OF NEWBORN SCREENING FOR HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES FOR BABIES WITH SUSPECTED SICKLE CELL ANEMIA (HB SS AND SICKLE BETA- ZERO-THALASSEMIA), SICKLE-BETA-PLUS-THALASSEMIA, AND ALPHA THALASSEMIA.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL INCREASE EFFICIENCY BY STREAMLINING THE DATA ENTRY AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR TREATMENT SAMPLES BY IMPLEMENTING AN AUTOMATED DATA ENTRY SOFTWARE AS WELL AS CREATING SAMPLE COLLECTION CARDS SPECIFIC TO TREATMENT SAMPLES TO IMPROVE THE DATA FIELDS AND ENSURE ACCURACY OF ACCESSIONING AND HANDLING.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR)CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSENETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL THREATS (LRN-B) THREAT AGENTS.

DEVELOP A PLAN AND A CURRICULUM FOR A GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN ADVANCED PRACTICES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES. THE CURRICULUM WILL BE DEVELOPED AFTER A THOROUGH SCOPING REVIEW OF EXISTING TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY WORKFORCE, INSIGHTS FROM SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, AND CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE DATA.

THE CONTRACTOR WILL WORK WITH APHL TWD STAFF TO DISTRIBUTE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS TO SELECTED STUDENTS IN THE MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM.

PEER NETWORK RESOURCE CENTER, PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS TO NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAMS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NEWBORN SCREENING DISORDERS THROUGH THE NEWBORN SCREENING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION PROGRAM.

TO FACILITATE A SECOND-TIER SCREEN FOR CAH TO DECREASE THE NUMBER OF FALSE POSITIVE RESULTS REPORTED AND IMPROVE OUR POSITIVE PREDICTIVE VALUE. OUR CURRENT OVERALL PPV IS LESS THAN 1%. THIS SECOND-TIER SCREEN WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED INITIALLY THROUGH OUTSOURCING AND ONCE OUR METHOD IS VALIDATED IN-HOUSE, TDH NBS LABORATORY WILL PERFORM THE SCREEN.

DEVELOP A PLAN AND A CURRICULUM FOR A GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN ADVANCED PRACTICES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES. THE CURRICULUM WILL BE DEVELOPED AFTER A THOROUGH SCOPING REVIEW OF EXISTING TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY WORKFORCE, INSIGHTS FROM SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, AND CURRENT PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE DATA.

THE INTERN WILL WORK PRIMARILY IN THE TRACE ELEMENTS LABORATORY, PART OF THE DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES. THE SPECIFIC PROJECT CONCEPT IS TO MEASURE TOTAL SILVER IN INFANT/TODDLER FOOD PRODUCTS PURCHASED IN THE ALBANY, NY AREAS AS A PROXY FOR SILVER NANOPARTICLES.

LEVERAGING THE ADMINISTRATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM UNIQUELY TARGETED TO DRPH CANDIDATE CURRENTLY EMPLOYED IN A PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY AND ACCEPTED INTO THIS ONLINE DRPH DEGREE PROGRAM TO OBTAIN THEIR DOCTORAL DEGREE AS ONE PREREQUISITE TO LEAD A MODERATE OR HIGHLY COMPLEX PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY. FURTHER, THIS EFFORT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE STRENGTHENING OF A PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY WORKFORCE PIPELINE AND ADDRESS NEED FOR SHORTAGES IN THESE LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.

PUBLIC HLTH.FOUNDATION ENT: IMPROVE TIMELINESS OF NEWBORN SCREENING SPECIMENS.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL THREATS (LRN-B) THREAT AGENTS.

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY WILL USE THE FUNDS AWARDED TO IMPLEMENT THE NEWBORN HEARING SCREENING AND DRIED BLOOD SPOT NEWBORN SCREENING QUALITY IMPROVEMENT LEARNING COLLABORATIVE. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE PLANNING AND HOLDING A KICK-OFF MEETING FOR TEAMS TO CREATE PLAN-DO-STUDY-ACT (PDSA) CYCLES IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A PROMISING PRACTICE GUIDE TO BE SHARED WITH VARIOUS AUDIENCES.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL (LRN-B) AND CHEMICAL (LRN-C) THREAT AGENTS.

THE PUERTO RICO (PR) NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM WILL:(1) VALIDATE AND IMPLEMENT A SECOND-TIER TESTING FOR ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY (ALD) USING THE NEW MS SYSTEM TO MONITOR ALD IN 100% OF THE POPULATION.(2) INCREASE AND SUSTAIN THE PERCENTAGE OF SAMPLES REPORTED TO FOLLOW-UP IN 3 DAYS OR LESS FROM THE WORKLIST DATE FROM 91% TO 95% BY USING THE NEW MS SYSTEM.

TO SUPPORT THE OPERATION OF THE ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY (ALD) NATIONAL REGISTRY. TO PARTNER WITH STATE NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE ALD DATA FOR THE INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED BY THE NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAM.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL WORK WITH THE APHL NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM TO SERVE AS THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN NEWBORN SCREENING. SPECIFICALLY, THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL LEAD ALL ACTIVITIES PERTAINING TO PROVIDING EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO DIVERSE FAMILIES AND PROVIDERS AND TO DEVELOP FAMILY LEADERS IN NATIONAL NEWBORN SCREENING.

THE VIRGINIA NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NEWBORN SCREENING RESULTS REPORTED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF LIFE AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES RECEIVED WITH MISSING OR ILLEGIBLE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY 1) PARTNERING WITH ICONNECT CONSULTING TO IMPLEMENT NEWLY DEVELOPED ELECTRONIC MESSAGING SOLUTIONS AT NO INITIAL COST TO THE THREE OR MORE HOSPITALS SERVING AS BETA SITES.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IDENTIFY STATE-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN ACUTE CARE USE AND INITIAL AND FOLLOW-UP HEMATOLOGY APPOINTMENTS FOR CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD) THROUGH NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) IN FOUR STATES BY USING THE SICKLE CELL DATA COLLECTION (SCDC) PROGRAM.

THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PRENATAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE IN MICHIGAN, SO THAT PARENTS ARE MORE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NBS PROCESS. MDHHS WILL CREATE AND IMPLEMENT A NEW EDUCATIONAL CHECKLIST DURING THE PRENATAL PERIOD THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THREE BIRTHING HOSPITALS WITH THE GOAL OF IMPROVING PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE NBS AND BIOTRUST PROGRAMS.

REDUCE THE TIME FROM SPECIMEN COLLECTION TO ARRIVAL IN THE NJ NBS LABORATORY TO 2 DAYS OR LESS, WITH THE SPECIMENS SPENDING LESS THAN 24 HOURS IN TRANSIT, FOR 95% OF THE SPECIMENS RECEIVED DURING THE PILOT PERIOD IN 3-5 HOSPITALS FROM DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS OF THE STATE THROUGH THE UTILIZATION OF A MEDICAL COURIER AND THROUGH COMMUNICATION WITH HOSPITALS ABOUT OPTIMAL TIMING.

TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEWBORN SCREENING FOR POMPE DISEASE AND MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS TYPE I.

TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF X-LINKED ADRENOLEUKODYSTROPHY NEWBORN SCREENING IN THE STATE OF KANSAS.

PRIMARY ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PERFORMING SARS-COV-2 SURVEILLANCE IN WASTEWATER. THIS ACTIVITY WILL INCLUDE SAMPLE PREPARATION, DROPLET DIGITAL PCR TESTING, AND RESULTS ANALYSIS. TESTING MAY ALSO INCLUDE SARS-COV-2 TESTING USING QPCR AND RESULTS ANALYSIS. LEARN BASICS OF QUALITY CONTROL FOR TESTING AND DOCUMENTATION. SAMPLE AND RESULTS TRACKING, AND REPORT GENERATION WILL DEVELOP BEST PRACTICE DATA MANAGEMENT SKILLS. DEVELOPING AND COMMUNICATING REPORTS WILL IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS. ASSIST WITH LABORATORY DOCUMENTATION AND QUALITY CONTROL. WORK WITH KEY LABORATORY PERSONNEL TO DEVELOP NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION FOR PROJECT. BECOME FAMILIAR WITH DOCUMENT CONTROL AND CLINICAL LAB PROCESSES. HELP TO RESEARCH AND PREPARE MANUSCRIPTS FOR PUBLICATION. WORK ONE-ON-ONE TO BRING A BACKLOG OF PUBLICATIONS FORWARD. ASSIST WITH LITERATURE SEARCHES AND SUMMARIES. ASSIST WITH DATA ANALYSIS AND FIGURE PREPARATION.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPROVE THE TIME TO RESULTS REPORTING BY ADDRESSING WORKFLOWS EFFICIENCIES WITHIN THE NBS PROGRAM SUCH AS SAME-DAY DATA ENTRY COMPLETION.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL THREATS (LRN-B) THREAT AGENTS.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT GENETIC TESTING AS A STANDARD COMPONENT OF NEWBORN SCREENING FOR HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES FOR BABIES WITH SUSPECTED SICKLE CELL ANEMIA (HB SS AND SICKLE BETA-ZERO-THALASSEMIA), SICKLE-BETA-PLUS-THALASSEMIA, AND ALPHA THALASSEMIA.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL CULTIVATE AN ENHANCED CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN (COOP) FOR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS THAT INCLUDES LABORATORY, SHORT-TERM FOLLOW-UP AND LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES AND ACCOUNTS FOR EMERGENCIES, INCLUDING NON-WEATHER EMERGENCIES THAT MAY BE LONGER TERM.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL REVISE THE EXISTING VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN (COOP) AND IMPLEMENT A PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI) SECURE REMOTE FAX COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR PROVIDING TIMELY COMMUNICATION TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS FOR REPORTING CRITICAL NEWBORN SCREENING RESULTS AND REQUESTING FOLLOW-UP DOCUMENTATION.

NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) SAMPLE DATA ENTRY CQI SUB AWARD INCLUDED THE BELOW AS ONE OF THE PROJECT DELIVERABLES: IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC SCANNING OF THE NBS SAMPLE LAB 10 FORMS FOR PERMANENT STORAGE.

THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) WILL IMPROVE THE MINNESOTA NEWBORN SCREENING SYSTEM BY EXPANDING & ALIGNING LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP (LTFU) DATA COLLECTION ACROSS MDH BLOOD SPOT, CCHD, & EHDI LTFU BY DEVELOPING STANDARDIZED, EFFICIENT, AND EFFECTIVE PROCESSES FOR COLLECTING AND REPORTING THE FOLLOWING COMMON DATA ELEMENTS FOR A DEFINED COHORT OF CHILDREN BETWEEN 3.0 AND 4.0 YEARS.

PEER NETWORK RESOURCE CENTER, PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS TO NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAMS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NEWBORN SCREENING DISORDERS THROUGH THE NEWBORN SCREENING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION PROGRAM

THE INTERN WILL OBSERVE ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING PROCEDURES (RECREATIONAL WATER/POOL/SPA TESTING;MOSQUITO AND TICK TESTING) AND LEARN THE SCIENCE BEHIND METHODS ANDPURPOSE; LEARN METHODS AND PERFORM DATA ANALYSIS OF POSITIVE RESULTS OBTAINED.

THE SUBRECIPIENT WILL IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC LABORATORY REPORTING (ELR) CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO REPORT RESULTS FOR ALL LABORATORY RESPONSE NETWORK FOR BIOLOGICAL THREATS (LRN-B) THREAT AGENTS.

THE VIRGINIA NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PROGRAM WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NEWBORN SCREENING RESULTS REPORTED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF LIFE AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES RECEIVED WITH MISSING OR ILLEGIBLE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY 1) PARTNERING WITH ICONNECT CONSULTING TO IMPLEMENT NEWLY DEVELOPED ELECTRONIC MESSAGING SOLUTIONS AT NO INITIAL COST TO THE THREE OR MORE HOSPITALS SERVING AS BETA SITES; AND BY 2) EXPANDING THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE EXISTING DCLS WEB PORTAL (DCLSCONNECT) TO FACILITATE THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF NBS ORDERS AND RETRIEVAL OF NBS RESULTS IN ORDER TO MAKE ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE AVAILABLE TO SMALLER, LOW-VOLUME SUBMITTERS SUCH AS RURAL COMMUNITY HOSPITALS, MIDWIVES AND PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS.

SEE PART IV