A big thank you to Bob Greene and the other folks who have taken the time to recognize laboratorians and the work that they do. As a Public Health Microbiologist in California, I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from the most dedicated people in the field. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank fellow microbiologists, researchers, technicians, clinical lab scientists and support staff for doing an outstanding job – Thank you!

Although praise and recognition is always nice to hear, perhaps more attention should be made on the fact that the public health infrastructure is failing us. The latest swine flu outbreak was a complete eye opener to us and although it would not be categorized as the most devastating outbreak, we were not as prepared as we had thought. With all the budget cuts in California, public health laboratories have taken a beating left and right. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard a co-worker tell me how worried they are about being laid off I would have retired early and moved to Kauai! Anyway, the fact of the matter is that public health laboratories are a core function of public health. I and fellow microbiologists worked long hours and weekends to keep up with this outbreak and are still finding that we are extremely behind with the testing of patient samples. For the most part, providers and patients have been very patient and understanding, but why should parents have to wait three weeks to a month to know if their child has swine flu? I would also like to give a shout out to fellow microbiologists working at the State Laboratory. They work just as hard and, thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger, have been forced to take unpaid furloughs.

Despite the every day fear of being handed a pink slip, this microbiologist would like to say that she’s in it for the long haul. I love my job and I love the people!