The Montana Laboratory Services Bureau (MTLSB) will be reviving the Montana Laboratory Forum, with a brand-new face and a brand-new focus! This forum is a voluntary network established to facilitate inter-laboratory system communication, collaboration, and cooperation. In addition to providing a laboratory network essential for statewide preparedness and response, we hope the Montana Laboratory Forum will be integral in addressing system improvement as identified from our discussions.
The intent of the Montana Laboratory Forum is to bring together system partners, with diverse perspectives, to identify gaps within the State Public Health Laboratory System and to propose ways to address these gaps. This meeting is the initial step in promoting collaboration between system partners and in strengthening the scientific base for public health laboratory practice improvement through a formal system.
By including many partners in a systems approach regarding public health, the Public Health Laboratory System will gain strength, leading to improved outcomes such as more efficient public health services, along with more effective laboratory practices and response to significant public health events.
During this meeting, we will focus on identifying credible threats, containment, proper specimen handling and packaging, as well as local transportation plans. We will also highlight some of the public health laboratory’s recent events, including the pandemic response, white powder envelopes, outbreaks of interest, as well as new testing and plans for the future.
The LSB intends to hold an in-person meeting at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The MTLSB has secured a room block for the night of May 20th and 21st, as well as funding for travel expenses. If you would like to attend, please complete and submit the application form, found here.
We are so excited to get this forum up and going again and look forward to a very successful meeting! For more information contact Crystal Fortune, cfortune@mt.gov or 406-444-0930.