24-04-2025
Federal funding freeze halts construction at North Carolina State Health Lab
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In a space that should be closer to completion, Dr. Scott Shone, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services State Public Health Laboratory director, described what can be seen under plastic sheeting.
'You can see new benches and vial safety cabinets, which are designed to keep our staff safe from what their working on.'
But the reality is if there is another viral outbreak like COVID in the near future, this lab and the ones like it down the hall won't be finished in time.
Last month, construction came to an abrupt halt after the Trump administration cut $230 million dollars due to the NCDHHS. Within that funding was around $2 million dollars to be used to complete the construction of testing space at the State Lab in Raleigh.
'The federal funding cuts and the unpredictability of them really present a challenge with how we can navigate each day, much less the next,' Shone said.
It's at the State Health Lab that threats like avian flu, measles, and other infectious diseases are tracked and identified, blood work for every newborn in the state is tested, as well as potential human exposure to things ranging from lead to rabies
'We are here to keep North Carolina safe,' Shone said. 'We have the staff and the expertise to respond to the threats that we currently face. The reality is that federal funding cuts jeopardize the sustainability of that response.'
Staff members were moved into a fraction of the space they were using prior to construction until work could be done. They are able to keep up with the demand so far, but any sudden and large outbreak could be a different story.
Another issue is the cuts also hit the CDC and its labs that states rely on.
'That does shift the burden to the states and where we have to look at testing that was previously done in Atlanta,' Shone said. 'Is that something we now need to pick up here in Raleigh and is that funded?'
A lot of expansion funded by the government at the State Lab has been completed since COVID exposed the real need. But they're not there yet.
Phase 1 of renovations began in 2021. The actual renovation work in the space current construction area began in October 2024 as part of the final phases of the overall renovation plans for the State Lab.
'All of this work started with COVID, but it's addressing these long-standing infrastructural challenges in public health and public health laboratory sites,' Shone said.
The solution may be up to the courts.
In the meantime, officials are weighing a number of options including whether the burden to make up the financial difference falls on state lawmakers.
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