APHL/LRN Operational Work
Group
March 22, 2010
CPT Trent J. Peacock, Ph.D.
Northern Regional Medical Command
Health Service Areas
Walter Reed AMC (DC)
Womack AMC
(Ft Bragg, NC)
Ft Drum (NY)
West Point (NY)
Ft Monmouth (NJ)
Ft Knox (KY)
Ft Eustis (VA)
Ft Lee (VA)
Ft Meade (MD)
Ft Belvoir (VA)
REF
REF
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
Southern Regional Medical Command
Health Service Areas
SAMMC (FSHTX)
Eisenhower AMC
(Ft Gordon, GA)
CRDAMC (Fort Hood, TX)
REF
Redstone Arsenal (AL)
Ft Sill (OK)
Ft Campbell (KY)
Ft Jackson (SC)
Ft Benning (GA)
Ft Stewart (GA)
Ft Rucker (AL)
Ft Polk (LA)
REF
REF
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
Western Regional Medical Command
Health Services Areas
Madigan AMC (Ft Lewis, WA)
William Beaumont AMC
(Ft Bliss, TX)
Ft Wainwright (AK)
Ft Irwin (CA)
Ft Huachuca
Ft Leavenworth
Ft Polk
Ft Leonard Wood
Ft Riley
Ft Sill
Ft Carson
REF
REF
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
SEN
Pacific Regional Medical Command
Health Service Area
Tripler AMC
REF
Korea
REF
Japan
SEN
Europe Regional Medical Command
Health Service Areas
Landstuhl RMC, GE
REF**
Heidelberg
SEN
SHAPE
SEN
Vicenza
SEN
LRN laboratories located across the United States
APHL/LRN Operational Work Group
APHL / LRN SCOPE OF WORK
The APHL/LRN Operational Work Group provides feedback
and makes recommendations to the Laboratory Response
Branch (LRB) that help to improve the quality of products
and services provided by the LRN Program Office to
network members.
Operational Work Group Topics
• Protocol and algorithm revisions
• Assessment of reagent utility
• Proficiency testing implementation
• Enhancements to electronic data messaging
• Evaluation of customer satisfaction levels
Operational Work Group Topic Assignment
Responsibility
• For each quality improvement initiative or task assigned by
the CDC, the Operational Work Group:
1.Collect any relevant documents from the designated CDC
representative
2.Discuss with LRB and determine whether the entire
network can be represented solely by workgroup members
or if queries of the entire network are required.
3.Develop quality improvement recommendations and
report results to the designated CDC representative*
* Final authority to make changes recommended by the APHL/LRN Operational Work Group,
resides with LRB.
Operational Work Group (OWG) membership
• Members are selected based on regional distribution,
laboratory function and size, and respective LRN gate
1. Members are rotated every 2 years
• OWG is comprised of representatives from 10 member
labs, 2 APHL staff and 2 CDC staff.
• Participant criteria:
1. Extensive knowledge of LRN protocols and
algorithms
2. Affiliated with a member lab that is approved to
perform testing for all or most LRN agents
3. Have expertise with survey design and
development
U.S. Army Operational Work Group (OWG)
membership
Department of the Army
Participating Members
U.S Army Medical Research
Institute of Infectious Diseases
(USAMRIID)
Member labs
Operational Workgroup Members
Public
Health Lab
FBI
Dept. of
Defense
Veterinary
Diagnostic
Agricultural
Environmental
APHL
CDC
Representative
Representative
APHL/LRN Operational Workgroup Communication,
Objective, Methods and Flow
• Communication objective
1. Solicit information from LRN members for quality
improvement process and projects
…
• Communication methods
1. Quarterly conference calls
…
2. Help
desk
3. LRN Program Office
4. OWG
• Communication flow
1. Bidirectional
 LRN member labs
OWG
LRB
APHL/LRN Operational Workgroup receives
feedback for protocol revisions
• Army LRN member feedback
1. Conventional methods training identified improved
methodology for India ink assay on blood
specimens; thin smear instead of a drop.
APHL/LRN Operational Workgroup Projects
Army support and participation in the OWG projects
Acknowledgements
• Chaitram, Jasmine, LRN Special Projects Manager, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
• Lee, Phil M.Sc. FIBS, Biological Defense Coordinator,
Molecular Microbiology Florida Department of Health
Bureau of Laboratories
• Nauschuetz, William Ph.D., Clinical Laboratory Coordinator
for Biopreparedness, and U.S. Army Coordinator for the
Laboratory Response Network for Bioterrorism