member spotlight
100 Faces of Excellence in Missouri by Nancy Maddox , MPH , writer vice president and president of the International Association for Chemical Testing . After the advent of Public Health Emergency Preparedness funding , Whitmar became a laboratory information program specialist , and then manager of the lab ’ s Emergency Response and Outreach Team . Three years later , he was promoted to assistant director , and then director in 2010 .
100 faces of excellence at the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory . Photo : MO PHL
Ask Bill Whitmar to talk about the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory , which he has headed since 2010 , and he immediately zeroes in on his staff .
“ I ’ m the luckiest guy in the state of Missouri ,” said Whitmar , “ and I ’ ll tell you why . I work with about 100 of the best , most dedicated people in state government . They make this place , this laboratory , the best facility in the state . We cherish our staff . And I salute them for their dedication and excellence .”
From that core asset flows everything else : the laboratory ’ s near 100 % proficiency test accuracy rate , 100 % customer satisfaction rate and history of stellar “ above-andbeyond ” service delivery . This is good news for the six million Missourians who rely on the laboratory for the full gamut of clinical and environmental public health testing . And , needless to say , the laboratory does all it can to meet their needs .
Given the state ’ s sizable immigrant populations in St . Louis and Kansas City , it maintains a specialty in identification of vector-borne pathogens and native and exotic parasites , ranging from Giardia and Paragnonimus lung flukes to the Plasmodium-type protozoans that transmit malaria . It is also a pass-through facility for specimens potentially containing the recently discovered , tick-borne Heartland virus ( which are forwarded to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) for testing ).
Given the ire often directed at certain US government facilities here , it stands ready to screen suspicious , unknown powders that may be submitted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation . And , given the region ’ s propensity for extreme , short-term weather events , it offers free private well water testing after the heavy downpours that inundate large swaths of this landlocked state .
While Whitmar lauded Missouri ’ s extensive Ozarks wilderness area , he also noted that the state ’ s abundance of bats , skunks and other rabies-prone species keep the laboratory busy testing over 1,000 animal heads / year for the potentially lethal disease .
Facility
The concrete and brick laboratory building sits on the bank of the Missouri River in Jefferson City , the state capital . The five-story , 117,000-square-foot BSL-3 facility was built in 2007 , and now overlooks the river that once occasionally overflowed into the previous laboratory during flood events .
Director
Whitmar ’ s tenure with the laboratory began in 1989 , when he joined the staff as an associate public health laboratory scientist in the Breath Alcohol Program . He stayed in that job 13 years , while also serving as an executive board member ,
Staff
The laboratory ’ s staff members include roughly 70 laboratory scientists and technicians and about 30 support staff who operate four non-testing units : the Central Services Unit , which oversees a state-wide courier system and facility maintenance ; the Post-analytical Reporting Unit , which interfaces with laboratory customers ; the Laboratory Preparedness , Education and Safety Unit , which coordinates preparedness grants , trainings and safety programs ; and the Fiscal Unit , which oversees all fiscal matters .
Revenue
The laboratory ’ s current , annual budget runs to $ 12.3 million , coming from newborn screening fees ( 40 %), federal grants ( 30 %), general state revenue ( 16 %), Medicaid payments ( 8 %), the state Safe Drinking Water Fund ( 4 %) and other sources ( 2 %).
Testing
Altogether , the laboratory receives just under 300,000 samples and performs over seven million analyses ( not individual tests ) each year , spread across nine testing units .
Newborn Screening : Missouri has 82,000 births / year and 73 conditions on its state newborn screening panel ( including individual lysosomal storage disorders and conditions on the expanded , federal Recommended Uniform Screening Panel ).
Molecular Testing : The molecular unit provides specialized services — such as
32 LAB MATTERS Spring 2018
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