Vermont Department of Health Laboratory

Vermont Public Health LaboratoryPublic health laboratories provide life-critical services. When new health risks emerge, or well-known problems occur, Vermont's laboratory staff analyze the threats and provide the information that health authorities, first responders, and other officials can use to mount an effective response to protect citizens.

Contact and Location  |  Water Testing  |  Laboratory Programs  |  Forms

The Department of Health Laboratory provides a wide range of testing services, such as drinking water, clinical microbiology, rabies, radiochemistry, blood lead and forensic toxicology.

As a part of our Health Surveillance Division, the Laboratory supports core environmental and public health activities, including: disease prevention, control and surveillance; environmental health and protection; laboratory improvement and regulation; food safety; and emergency response.

The Laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) for clinical testing by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and accredited by the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) for drinking water analyses. Learn more about the role of Public Health Laboratories.

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Laboratory Programs

Environmental Chemistry

Provides chemical analyses for public and private drinking water supplies (including radiochemical), analytical support for Vermont Yankee monitoring activities, test data interpretation, public health emergency chemical laboratory response for environmental samples (e.g. drinking water tampering incidents, floods, radiological), and certification of drinking water testing laboratories.

Microbiology

Provides a broad range of testing services to diagnose diseases of public health importance including sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, tuberculosis, influenza, rabies, hepatitis B & C, foodborne illnesses. Specific laboratories within microbiology include: molecular biology, mycology, water bacteriology, parasitology, bacteriology, mycobacteriology, virology, and serology.

The Microbiology Program also provides training and consultation, and support of epidemiological investigations, public health surveillance, and other public health responses (including bioterrorism, pandemic influenza, and naturally occurring emergencies such as floods).

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Toxicology

Provides analytical services in blood lead, urine drug, and special toxicology such as testing for blue-green algae toxins.  The program is responsible for responding to chemical events that involve testing of clinical specimens for chemical terrorism or environmental toxins.

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Vermont Laboratory Response Network (LRN)

The national Laboratory Response Network consists of local, state and federal public health, clinical, agricultural, veterinary, and environmental testing laboratories. The LRN is designed to provide a coordinated and rapid response to biological and chemical terrorism, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies. The Vermont LRN works to coordinate biological and chemical LRN activities within the State of Vermont between the Health Department and its partners, including first responders, law enforcement and other state and federal public health entities. The Vermont LRN assists hospital sentinel laboratories by providing training and support in specimen collection, storage, and shipment, evidence-control measures and recognition of chemical and biological terrorism agents. The Vermont LRN maintains an integrated laboratory network and promotes statewide laboratory connection and communication.

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What Public Health Laboratories Do

Our Vision
To be the most Innovative, Quality-Focused, Customer-Oriented Public Health Laboratory.

Our Mission
To promote health and prevent disease by providing:

Public Health Laboratories

While private medical laboratories perform tests to diagnose problems afflicting individual patients, public health laboratories are engaged to safeguard entire communities. Across the nation, public health laboratories:

Read more about public health laboratories: Defending the Public’s Health PDF document

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Contact and Location Information

Telephone

Mailing Address
Vermont Department of Health Laboratory
PO Box 1125
Burlington, VT 05402-1125

Physical Location and Shipping Address
Vermont Department of Health Laboratory
359 South Park Drive
Colchester, VT 05446

Hours
7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
Closed holidays. Click to view holidays.

Directions and Map

From I-89, Exit 16 Southbound:
Take a right onto US Rt. 2/US 7 (Approx. 0.1 miles to South Park Drive).
Take first left onto South Park Drive (Approx. 0.3 miles to lab).
Follow the road until you reach signs for Fitzgerald Veterinary Hospital.
Stay to the right and follow the road to the main entrance.
Last building on the left, adjacent to the UVM Colchester Research Facility.

From I-89, Exit 16 Northbound:
Take a left onto US Rt. 2/US 7 going under the highway. (Approx. 0.2 miles to South Park Drive).
Take first left onto South Park Drive (Approx. 0.3 miles to lab).
Follow the road until you reach signs for Fitzgerald Veterinary Hospital.
Stay to the right and follow the road to the main entrance.
Last building on the left, adjacent to the UVM Colchester Research Facility.

Map: 359 South Park Drive, Colchester, VT 05446 (Google Maps)

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