The people behind-the-scenes at hospitals, laboratories and public health offices are front and center this week, National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (April 24-30).

Gov. Chris Christie issued a proclamation celebrating the week in New Jersey, and state Department of Health Acting Commissioner Cathleen Bennett recognized the professionals who “play a vital role in healthcare and especially in protecting the public’s health.”

“Laboratory professionals work at commercial and hospital laboratories as well as the Department’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratory (PHEL),” Bennett elaborated. “(They) conduct tests daily that help residents manage chronic disease, ensure drinking and recreational water is safe, detect and report disease outbreaks and work closely with local, state and federal agencies in maintaining vigilance against bioterrorism.”

Bennett highlighted work being done by PHEL, including the Newborn Screening Program, which screens newborns for metabolic and genetic disorders, and the Microbiology and Molecular Detection Laboratories, which keeps surveillance of virus like West Nile Virus and Zika Virus and tests food and clinical specimens in support of infectious disease outbreak investigators.

The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science estimates there are more than 300,000 medical laboratory professionals around the country.