(Nov. 8, 2024) – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has launched a statewide bio-surveillance initiative requesting hospital/health system participation. The initiative involves the collection of urine samples in the emergency department from patients presenting to the emergency department with any suspected drug overdose. The Kansas Health and Environment Laboratory will analyze the de-identified specimens to detect a broader range of substances than those typically tested in hospital laboratories. KDHE will reimburse participating hospitals for each specimen collected to compensate staff time for sample collection and participation in the initiative. A courier will be provided to deliver the specimens to KHEL. There is no charge for the testing. The initiative is funded by KDHE with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Overdose Data to Action funding. For more information, see
KDHE's Kansas Bio-Surveillance Initiative Fact Sheet. For questions or more detailed information, please contact KDHE's OD2AS Program at
kdhe.odprevention@ks.gov.
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Karen Braman