APHL Receives $16.5 Million Award for Newborn Screening Program Quality Improvements

Silver Spring, MD, Aug. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) has been awarded $16.5 million through a five-year cooperative agreement by the Genetic Services Branch of the US Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This award will be used to facilitate technical assistance and offer resources to state newborn screening programs for continuous quality improvement within the newborn screening system. In partnership with the Colorado School of Public Health (CoSPH), the NewSTEPs Quality Improvement program of APHL will allow for improvements in newborn screening timeliness, detection of out-of-range results, communication of test results and confirmation of diagnoses.

“Continuing to focus on improving the quality of newborn screening programs around the US means saving or improving the lives of more babies,” says Jelili Ojodu, director of APHL’s Newborn Screening and Genetics Program and director of NewSTEPs. “We are extremely grateful and proud to further our role in supporting in this collective effort.”

Newborn screening programs in the United States screen over four million babies annually, saving or improving the lives of more than 12,000 babies a year. For babies who test positive for one of the genetic, metabolic, heart or hearing conditions, newborn screening can prevent serious health problems or even death.

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This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,300,000. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public's health in the US and globally. APHL's member laboratories protect the public's health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats.

Michelle Forman
240.485.2793
michelle.forman@aphl.org