In response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health (NCSLPH) is working with its overnight courier, United Parcel Service (UPS), to identify disruptions in DBS specimen transport services and with the State’s Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) to identify DBS specimen transportation resources for those impacted facilities. If a healthcare facility has DBS specimen transport needs, please communicate that request to the SEOC through your local emergency management.
Newborn screening is a critical public health service that needs to continue during this emergency response. Babies born at storm-impacted healthcare facilities should still have newborn screening dried blood spot (DBS) specimens collected 24 to 48 hours after birth or prior to discharge, if before 24 hours of age. If a newborn screening specimen was not collected or newborn screening results are unable to be located due to the inclement weather, please collect a newborn screening specimen and send to NCSLPH as soon as possible.
Please ensure all delayed DBS specimens are stored in a secure, dry environment at ambient temperature until transportation resources are available. The NCSLPH Newborn Screening Laboratory can be reached at [email protected] or through NCSLPH Customer Service at 919-733-3937.