This page provides links to past year’s EHS spotlight and news articles.
Quick links to past EHS spotlight and news articles by year:
2007,
2006,
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001.
November 2007
USNS Comfort [PDF,
259 KB] – describes the US Naval hospital ship's deployment in 2007 to 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; CDC staff on board included the Officer-in-Charge, CAPT Craig Shepherd from EHS.
June 2007
Military to Civilian Environmental Health Practice [PDF, 3 MB] – provides information to environmental health professionals who are retiring or leaving
active duty service so they consider careers with state and local environmental
public health programs.
Final Report for the Process Evaluation of PACE EH [PDF, 1.6 MB] – addresses questions related to awareness and adoption of the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH), PACE EH implementation, intermediate results, and recommendations for future community environmental health assessment activities. The evaluation was conducted by Battelle’s Center for Public Health Research and Evaluation.
Value and Benefits of Environmental Health Services [DOC, 77 KB] – collaboration among NCEH capacity-building grantee projects to produce a set of talking points to facilitate development of strategic partnerships that recognize the critical role public policymakers have in supporting the delivery of environmental health services. These talking points can be used by state and local environmental health practitioners to develop information and education strategies for public policymakers.
Factors Related to Food Worker Hand Hygiene Practices [PDF, 77 KB] – Journal of Food Protection, 2007. Article includes quantitative data on establishment characteristics associated with food worker hand washing and glove use practices.
Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute (EPHLI) Presentations and Graduation – On February 28, 2007, the second cohort of fellows graduated from EPHLI. The 36 fellows in the class of 2006–2007 came to Atlanta for their final session and to present their final projects. The 42 members of the class of 2007–2008 attended the presentations and graduation and began their year of seminars and workshops, special projects, and individual study. For more information about EPHLI, contact Brian Hubbard (770-488-7098 or bnh5@cdc.gov).
NEHA Educational Series Now Available – provides environmental health professionals with convenient, affordable, and relevant continuing education. For more information on NEHA-CERT courses, go to www.nehacert.org.
Outbreaks of Short-Incubation Ocular and Respiratory Illness Following Exposure to Indoor Swimming Pools – CDC investigation of two Illinois indoor hotel swimming pool chloramine-associated outbreaks (published in Environmental Health Perspectives).
2006 Archived News ItemsNALBOH Onsite Wastewater and Land Use Planning Guides [PDF, 933 KB] – guide and companion DVD may be ordered from NALBOH. NALBOH collaborated with the Environmental Health Services Branch and the National Center for Environmental Health on this project.
CDC Support for EMAC – The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is a congressionally ratified interstate mutual aid agreement that provides a mechanism for sharing personnel, resources, equipment, and assets during emergencies and disasters. EMAC was used to provide public health and environmental health assistance during the 2005 hurricane season with much success.
CDC and HUD to Release an Updated Housing Inspection Manual—The Healthy Housing Reference Manual [PDF, 191 KB] – discusses revision of CDC’s 30-year-old Basic Housing Inspection manual and its release as the Healthy Housing Reference Manual. This is one in a series of monthly Environmental Health Services Branch columns in the Journal of Environmental Health.
Environmental Health in Disaster Response – Level 1 Pilot [PDF, 33 KB] – seeking comments on the pilot course outline.
Pictorial Keys to Arthropods, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals of Public Health Significance – pictorial keys used to teach animal identification to personnel (sanitarians, engineers, physicians, veterinarians, etc.) without special training in taxonomy.
CAPT Craig Shepherd: John G. Todd Award Winner [PDF, 60 KB] – The Todd Award is
the USPHS Environmental Health Officer's highest award. As this year’s
recipient, CAPT Shepherd of the Environmental Health Services Branch was
recognized for having served with excellence, honor, and distinction throughout
his career.
Military to Civilian Environmental Health Practice [PDF, 72 KB] – CAPT Mike
Herring of the Environmental Health Services Branch made a presentation on a new
CDC workforce initiative at the Navy Environmental Health Conference. The
Environmental Public Health Resource Guide for Military Environmental Health
Practitioners was developed to provide information and encouragement to
environmental health professionals who are retiring or leaving active duty
service to consider careers with state and local environmental public health
programs.
Environmental Public Health Services Featured in IJHEH – A recent edition of the
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health includes three
articles written by EHSB authors. Abstracts are available on the
EHSB
Publications Page.
Emergency and Terrorism Preparedness Web Site for Practitioners – The
Environmental Health Services Branch is pleased to announce its new
Emergency
and Terrorism Preparedness Web site. This clearinghouse of information contains
resources related to emergency and terrorism preparedness for environmental
health practitioners. Subject areas on the site include general preparedness,
food security, water security, hazardous materials, building environment,
radiation, vector control, and biologic and infectious waste.
Environmental Health Specialists Network Information System
[PDF, 77 KB] – The
Environmental Health Specialists Network Information System (EHSNIS) is an
Internet application available for free use by government agencies and nonprofit
organizations to support their data collection needs relating to environmental
health.
2005 Archived News Items
Mosquitoes and You: West Nile Virus Training for Elementary School Students
(Volusia County Health Department, Florida) – multimedia training program with
age-appropriate games, videos, and workbooks [K-2] [PDF, 1,265 KB]; [3-5] [PDF,
1,706 KB] and includes a
teacher's manual [PDF, 907 KB]. This program was
developed in collaboration with the Volusia County [Florida] Health Department.
South Bass Island Assessment [PDF, 1 MB] – environmental health assessment in
2004 identified potential sources of water contamination on Lake Erie's South
Bass Island.
Environmental Health Services Branch Collaborates on Lead Exposure Reduction
Plan in La Oroya, Peru – study of what may be contributing to reported health
complaints and elevated blood lead levels and how to reduce exposure.
Environmental Health’s Role in Preparedness [PDF, 489 KB] – NEHA’s September
Journal of Environmental Health features an excellent article about how
environmental health programs have expanded to include preparedness in their
communities. It features interviews with professionals from across the United
States, including Environmental Health Services Branch staff.
New Capacity Building Partnerships – EHSB has initiated new capacity building
partnerships with five institutions to form regional environmental public health
academic centers and nine environmental public health programs.
Essential Services of Environmental Health [PDF, 823 KB] – This training program
is designed to help environmental health programs to fully integrate the
essential services concepts into their own operations through a flexible
workshop format. NEHA will be awarding continuing education credit for
successful completion of the course.
First National Initiative to Promote Healthy Swimming [PDF, 28 KB] – Responding
to increasing outbreaks of illness associated with swimming venues, leaders from
local, state, and federal public health institutions, the aquatics industry, and
nongovernmental groups recently convened in Atlanta to begin planning the first
national, broad-based initiative to reduce and prevent recreational water
illnesses. The workshop was in response to the Council of State and Territorial
Epidemiologists'
position paper asking CDC to develop a national strategic plan
to address the prevention and control of recreational water illnesses.
Environmental Public Health Services in Spotlight [PDF, 109 KB] – The March 2005
edition of the The Nation's Health announced a new Web site,
www.ephs-apha.org,
which highlights the work of environmental public health workers and spotlights
critical issues faced by those workers and their communities. The
August 2004
edition featured an article about the revitalization of environmental public
health services.
2004 Archived News Items
A Systems-based Food Safety Evaluation: An Experimental Approach [PDF, 531 KB]
(Capt. Chuck Higgins and Capt. Barry Hartfield, USPHS, NPS Public Health
Program) – Was published in the November edition of the NEHA
Journal of
Environmental Health. The development of the environmental health system
approach used in this study came from work done by Capt. Higgins in
collaboration with other branch members during his assignment at CDC’s
Environmental Health Services Branch.
Beliefs about Sources of Gastrointestinal Illness [PDF, 553 KB] – An EHS-Net
poster titled “What Factors Are Associated with People’s Beliefs That a Meal
Eaten Outside of the Home Made Them Sick?” was presented at the International
Association for Food Protection meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, in August 2004.
Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute – In October, the Environmental
Health Services Branch held an orientation session for CDC’s new Environmental
Public Health Leadership Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. In January 2005,
additional candidates will be considered for admittance into the program, with
the first session scheduled for spring 2005. Additional information is available
from Capt. John Sarisky at JSarisky@cdc.gov.
MMWR Publication: An Outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis at a Swimming Club --
Vermont, 2004 – This report summarizes the results of a successful environmental
health systems approach investigation conducted by the Vermont Department of
Health and CDC. The findings underscore the importance of correct pool
maintenance for rapid identification of water-quality problems to prevent
outbreaks of swimming pool-associated illness.
Swimming Pool Inspectors Interactive Training CD-ROM – This CD-ROM is an
excellent and innovative tool for training new environmental health personnel
and a good review for experienced staff. The 37 lessons include more than 100
videos, computer animations, and detailed 3-D graphics; 470 photos; interactive
problem-solving exercises and quizzes; and live links to the
CDC Healthy
Swimming Web site.
NALBOH Environmental Health Primer – 200+ page document prepared by the National
Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) on environmental health issues
such as air quality, food safety, drinking water, wastewater, solid waste,
hazardous waste, vector control, injury prevention, risk assessment, and more.
Community-Based Environmental Health Assessment (CEHA) Program – The Protocol
for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH) is an
innovative tool that allows communities and local governments to identify
environmental health issues, rank local environmental health concerns, and
prioritize environmental health program activities.
After a
Hurricane or Flood: Cleanup of Flood Water – EHSB staff members have been active in response to the recent series of hurricanes. They have responded to assist Florida state and local environmental health agencies and developed guidance documents.
Zoonotic Disease Surveillance [PDF, 352 KB] – CDR Hugh Mainzer coauthored an
article, Surveillance Methodologies for Zoonotic Diseases at Community Levels,
recently published by the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization in
the Final Report: Expert Consultation on Community Based Veterinary Public
Health Systems.
EHS-Net Egg Study Published in
Journal of Food Protection – Prevalence of
High-Risk Egg-Preparation Practices in Restaurants That Prepare Breakfast Egg
Entrées: An EHS-Net Study published in the July issue of the Journal of Food
Protection. The study in the seven EHS-Net states included an interview and
brief site evaluation of 153 restaurants that prepare eggs during all hours of
operation.
EHS-Net NEHA Poster
[PDF, 220 KB] – Environmental Health Specialists' Attitudes
and Practices Concerning Food Safety in Restaurants: Preliminary Results
presents information on how inspections can be improved to enhance food safety.
American Public Health Association Features Revitalization – [PDF, 400 KB] The August 2004 edition of The Nation's Health features an article on the
revitalization of environmental public health services.
The National Environmental Health Diversity Recruitment Task Force – Eastern
Kentucky University (EKU) is leading an effort to develop “National Models of
Excellence” in diversity for this rapidly expanding career field.
MMWR Surveillance Data From Public Spa Inspections
— United States, May–September
2002 – Extensive spa use combined
with inadequate maintenance contribute to recreational water illnesses (RWIs)
caused by pathogens. The findings underscore the utility of these data for
public health decision-making and the need for increased training and vigilance
by operators to ensure high-quality spa water for use by the public.
Stormwater Management and Vector Breeding Habitats [PDF,
48 KB] – A new
systems-based approach can help to ensure that mosquito-management programs
integrated into storm water management programs.
2003 Archived News Items
MMWR Pool Inspection Data – Since the 1980s, the number of reported recreational
water illness outbreaks has increased steadily. Local environmental health
programs inspect public and semipublic pools periodically to determine
compliance with local and state health regulations.
CDR Gelting Recognized – CDR Richard J. Gelting, Ph.D., of the Environmental
Health Services Branch of NCEH recently received the USPHS Engineering Literary
Award.
Environmental Health Competency Project [PDF, 555 KB] – A national panel defined
core competencies for local level environmental health practitioners.
Managing Rodents and Mosquitoes Through Integrated Pest Management
– Online Webcast from 2003 provides information for local health authorities to implement
integrated pest management
Preparing For The Environmental Public Health Challenges Of The 21st Century –
Preparing the environmental public health workforce, promoting an all-hazards
approach to preparedness and response to manmade and natural public health
challenges and developing emerging environmental public health leaders are the
themes of this CDC conference, December 3-5, 2003.
2002 Archived News Items
Special Grand Rounds: Revitalizing the Environmental Health Services System –
The Special Grand Round highlighted the issues, challenges and efforts to
revitalize the environmental health services in the United Kingdom and the
United States.
2001 Archived News Items
A Waterborne Outbreak of Norwalk-Like Virus among Snowmobilers - Wyoming, 2001 –
A cohort study found a significant association between water consumption and
illness, and testing identified Norwalk-like virus (NLV) in 8 of the 13 stool
samples and 1 well.
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