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State public health lab outlines new facility timeline, equipment requests and budget impacts
Summary
Dr. Christy Mason, Laboratory Services Section Director, told the Appropriations Committee the state lab will move into a new facility in 2026, seek one‑time funds for the move and request a decision package for nonfatal toxicology services; she described construction appropriations already made and flagged operating rent and federal authority as
Dr. Christy Mason, Laboratory Services Section Director at the North Dakota Public Health Laboratory, briefed the Appropriations Committee on a planned move into a new state laboratory building, changes to the section's budget and a request for one‑time funding to add nonfatal toxicology services.
"My name is Doctor. Christy Mason and I am the Laboratory Services Section Director for the Public Health Laboratory," she told the committee as she opened the presentation. Mason described the lab's role as a statewide reference laboratory that performs diagnostic and environmental testing, assists in outbreak response, and supports clinical and hospital laboratories and other state partners.
The committee heard that the lab currently employs 24.15 FTEs, four temporary staff and summer student hires. Mason said the laboratory validated 47 new test methods in the last year and performed about 176,000 diagnostic human tests. She summarized the condition of the existing facility (a 1974 building with a 2004 addition) and showed photos of roof leaks and…
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