Strategic Plan

A purpose nearly sixty years in the making

While maintaining traditional services to the food animal industries and companion animal owners of Texas, TVMDL is dedicated to developing new diagnostic tools, incorporating state-of-the-art technology, increasing efficiency, and continuing to provide clients with professional expertise to help them solve difficult cases. The laboratory’s success can be attributed to a dedicated and skilled professional, technical, and administrative staff and to the professional relationships TVMDL has developed with Texas A&M System partners, practicing veterinarians, industry leaders, and the general public.

Our testing efforts facilitate commerce of Texas livestock by providing tests required for international, intrastate, and interstate movement of animals. TVMDL also provides critical laboratory data necessary to identify disease outbreaks, including emerging, reemerging, and zoonotic diseases, and provides appropriate warnings to individuals and governmental agencies. Early disease detection is a critical contribution by TVMDL to the One Health/One Medicine approach to ensuring public health. Agency income is derived from state appropriations and fees charged for services rendered.

Strategic Planning Priorities

Priority 1

Keep Texas Prepared

TVMDL’s goal is to ensure early, rapid, and accurate detection of human and animal disease threats, potential bioterrorism events, changes in antimicrobial resistance of pathogens as well as the timely and effective communication of disease data to decision makers. All of this work is accomplished according to a rigorous quality assurance program and is accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD).

Priority 2

Provide Value-Added Services

TVMDL is the state diagnostic laboratory for Texas. We strive to provide testing for as many diseases and conditions as possible, using a myriad of techniques both classical and state of the art. Some of those offerings will be loss leaders, but as the state laboratory, TVMDL is dedicated to offering those services. When evaluating our testing services, revenue is not the driving factor. However, we must be strategic about our offerings to ensure the overall success of the agency is not compromised with the addition or continuation of unsustainable services. Staff focused on research and development are guided by agency experts to ensure new offerings are right for our agency, our clients, and the State of Texas.

Priority 3

Strengthen our Workforce

Most of our positions are technical and para-professional employees who prepare samples and perform routine testing. While our staff are well trained to perform complex diagnostic testing, it’s important that staff also understand their role in veterinary medicine, animal health, and food production systems. TVMDL is starting an initiative that will take employees to client facilities to directly observe and learn about their operations. Staff will learn how samples are collected, understand the importance of surveillance testing, and observe TVMDL’s role in food animal production and trade. Showing our staff firsthand the impact they make can help them see TVMDL is more than a job, it’s a place you can build a career that makes a difference.

Priority 3

Optimize Agency Resources

To remain competitive and provide the service necessary to the citizens of Texas, TVMDL must
continue to invest in sophisticated testing equipment. As in every sector of society, technology in
veterinary diagnostics is changing exponentially, making most equipment obsolete in 5-10 years.
Within the next two fiscal years, 60% of our equipment will be beyond useful life. With the shortened life expectancy of capital equipment, we must adjust how the agency budgets for these large financial expenditures.