Public Health Laboratory

Tulare County Public Health Lab from HHSACommunity on Vimeo .

The Tulare County Public Health Laboratory (TCPHL) provides laboratory services that protect, promote, and improve the health and well-being of the people of Tulare County. We do this through 11 core functions for our communities:

• Disease prevention, control, and surveillance: Our laboratory is a clinical and environmental laboratory. We analyze approximately 30,000 clinical and environmental samples per year to assist with disease prevention, control, and surveillance.
• Integrated Data Management: TCPHL maintains electronic interfaces with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) CalREDIE system, the Centers for Disease Control and Surveillance (CDC) LIMS system, and our county clinics' electronic health records to enable rapid response and reporting.
• Reference and Specialized Testing: As a public health laboratory in California, TCPHL is authorized to perform testing using emergency use authorizations, enabling a rapid response to new and emerging infectious diseases. TCPHL also connects with other local public health laboratories, CDPH laboratories, and CDC laboratories to access reference and specialized testing that is difficult to obtain from regular commercial laboratories.
• Health and Environmental Protection: TCPHL assists with environmental health and protection testing, in areas such as drinking water quality and animal rabies detection.
• Food Safety: TCPHL assists with testing needs associated with outbreaks or suspected outbreaks of foodborne illness.
• Laboratory Improvement and Regulation: TCPHL has implemented continuous quality improvement strategies, such as Lean, to ensure that high-quality services are delivered efficiently and effectively.
• Policy Development: Through our partners in the California Association of Public Health Laboratory Directors (CAPHLD), CDPH, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), our laboratory is involved in developing policies designed to improve the quality of laboratory services in the United States.
• Emergency Response: TCPHL is a regional reference laboratory of the Laboratory Response Network serving the entire southern San Joaquin Valley, including Tulare, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties. We are the only laboratory in this region currently authorized and capable of testing suspected substances for bioterrorism agents. This requires a close partnership with first responders and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We receive special funding from the state to provide these services to the region.
• Public Health Research: Our public health laboratory stays up-to-date with new research and technologies that can lead to improved delivery of laboratory services.
• Training and Education: TCPHL is approved by the CDPH to provide training for Public Health Microbiologists in California. TCPHL also partners with one of our local hospitals to assist with the training of Clinical Laboratory Scientists. Additionally, TCPHL offers periodic training opportunities for local hospital laboratory staff on topics such as Packaging and Shipping Division 6.2 Hazardous Materials.
• Partnerships and Communication: In addition to partnerships with our local hospitals, clinics, and first responders, TCPHL belongs to state and national surveillance networks such as MeaslesNet, the Norovirus Laboratory Network, the Respiratory Laboratory Network, and the Food Emergency Response Network. We are also members of CAPHLD and APHL. Our laboratory staff is proud to provide services to our communities, which would not be possible without our internal and external partnerships!

Please see the links below for more information.