Our Mission

The mission of the Laboratory Central Services Branch is to provide centralized professional, technical, and administrative support services which are essential to the operation of the Department's public health diagnostic laboratories.

Major services to Richmond Campus laboratories include: administration of an AAALAC-accredited laboratory animal care and use program; specimen receiving and processing; preparation of diagnostic culture media; glassware services; decontamination and appropriate disposal of medical waste; and support for the Laboratory Practices Safety Committee and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Specimen receiving includes the accession, tracking, and assurance of the biological integrity for patient and environmental samples submitted from local public health laboratories and other sources until they arrive at the appropriate destination laboratory, as well as trans-shipment of specimens to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for additional or confirmatory testing.

The branch is also responsible for the state's regulatory Laboratory Animal Use Approval Program under the California Health and Safety Code which requires that persons (individuals, corporations, or institutions) who wish to keep or use live, warm-blooded animals for education, research, testing, or diagnostic purposes must apply (PDF) to the Department for approval to conduct such activities.​