Health Department wants new lab to prepare for next pandemic

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State officials are proposing to build a new laboratory to replace the one run by the Health Department, which is the only Level 3 biosafety facility in the state.

Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott is advocating for spending $82 million to replace the State Health Lab that she said had limited capacity to expand testing needed during the coronavirus pandemic because the building's systems are outdated, The Providence Journal reported on Tuesday.

“When it came to testing, for example, where we were leaders, we ultimately were inhibited by our ability to expand just because of the confines of the building and the electrical supply for the building,” Alexander-Scott said. “With the next pandemic, we are going to need the ability to expand and shift and streamline.”

The medical examiner’s office, state crime lab and environmental testing labs are also located in the same building as the State Health Lab in downtown Providence across from the state capitol.

Gov. Dan McKee included the allocation for the new lab in the proposed budget. If the Legislature approves the spending, it would come from the $1.1 billion in federal coronavirus relief that the state is getting. The new fiscal year starts July 1 and a final budget bill is expected this month.

A possible site for the new lab in downtown Providence is on former Route 195 land that the state already owns, the newspaper reported.