Lab Quality Program Important to Newborn Screening

"Learn about one of the nation’s most successful public health programs for newborn screening – CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health Lab Quality Program.

CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences in the National Center for Environmental Health plays an important role in newborn screening by offering the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program (NSQAP) to local, state, and international laboratories, and assuring newborn screening test results are as accurate as possible.

Shortly after a baby is born, a health professional takes a few drops of blood from the baby’s heel. The blood sample is sent to a state laboratory to be analyzed for several severe disorders. This process, known as newborn screening, is one of the nation’s most successful public health programs because the early identification of severe disorders has led to timely intervention and life-saving treatments for newborn children. A big part of the success of newborn screening in the laboratory is CDC’s NSQAP. This voluntary, non-regulatory program helps state health departments and their laboratories maintain and enhance the quality of test results.

Joanne Mei leads NSQAP in the Newborn Screening and molecular Biology Branch in CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health. The program’s role, she says, is simple: “We exist to help newborn screening labs minimize the risk of making errors.”.."
Newborn screening

Infographic: The Screening Process for Refugee Entry into the United States

"The Screening Process for Refugee Entry Into the United States

Recurrent vetting: Throughout this process, pending applications continue to be checked against terrorist databases, to ensure new, relevant terrorism information has not come to light. If a match is found, that case is paused for further review. Applicants who continue to have no flags continue the process. If there is doubt about whether an applicant poses a security risk, they will not be admitted.

1. Many refugee applicants identify themselves to the U.N. Refugee Agency, UNHCR. UNHCR, then:
   • ​​Collects identifying documents
   • Performs initial assessment
     • Collects biodata: name, address, birthday, place of birth, etc.
     • Collects biometrics: iris scans (for Syrians, and other refugee populations in the Middle East)
   • Interviews applicants to confirm refugee status and the need for resettlement
     • Initial information checked again
   • Only applicants who are strong candidates for resettlement move forward (less than 1% of global refugee population).
2. Applicants are received by a federally-funded Refugee Support Center (RSC):​​
   • Collects identifying documents
   • Creates an applicant file
   • Compiles information to conduct biographic security checks..."
     Refugee screening

Newborn Screening is Important for Your Baby

"The nursery is decorated, the car seat is ready, and you can't wait to bring your new baby home. But before your newborn comes home, he or she will need some important screening done at the hospital. This screening is called newborn screening and includes a blood test, hearing screening, and, in many hospitals, screening for critical congenital heart defects. Newborn screening is important because even if your baby looks healthy, some medical conditions can't be seen just by looking. If your baby was not born in a hospital or was not screened before leaving the hospital, take him or her to the doctor's office or hospital to be screened as soon as possible..."
Newborn screening

Cancer Screening - United States, 2010

"Each year, approximately 350,000 persons are diagnosed with breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer in the United States, and nearly 100,000 die from these diseases (1). The U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening tests for each of these cancers to reduce morbidity and mortality (2). Healthy People 2020 sets national objectives for use of the recommended cancer screening tests and identifies the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as the means to measure progress.."

Changes in Airport Passenger Screening Technologies and Procedures: Frequently Asked Questions
A series of faq are presents on airport passenger screening technologies and procedures.