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| <p><strong>Expanding Environmental Health Initiatives Within the Local Community Without Compromising Core Environmental Health Functions: Executive Summary</strong></p> | |
| <p>Susan G. King, M.S.</p> | |
| <p>Public and environmental health agencies are experiencing budgetary cuts or flat funding at a time of increased need for resources to incorporate new and enhanced initiatives. </p> | |
| <p>Apparent public health threats including emerging zoonotic diseases, food-borne illness from agricultural products, lead in our children’s toys, terrorism and natural disasters have increased. Demands for protection from unregulated facilities such as tanning salons and tattoo parlors have increased. Regulatory standards for existing programs such as drinking water have increased. Demands for the reduction of environmental pollutants in natural resources and living space environments have increased. These increased demands challenge environmental health agencies which are today struggling to maintain core environmental health functions while experiencing reduced staffing and the loss of institutional knowledge.</p> | |
| <p>Only an innovative and comprehensive response to this challenge by the environmental health agencies will enable them to meet the continually moving finish line that defines good public health. As public and environmental health resources are cut back due to a reduction and reallocation of funds within municipal budgets, the environmental health agency must seek other means to maintain core environmental health programs and incorporate new environmental health initiatives and demands. The environmental health agency must also maintain the confidence of the constituency which it serves in an ever-increasing media driven public arena and continue to motivate and attract devoted and talented staff. </p> | |
| <p>Consequently, the focus of this project year has been a three-pronged strategy which includes:</p> | |
| <p>the development of an environmental health awareness campaign,</p> | |
| <p>increasing the advisory capacity for the environmental health agency, and</p> | |
| <p>improving the performance of the local health unit by employing “best practices” and developing the workforce.</p> | |
| <p>This strategy will lay the groundwork for the implementation of expanded public health initiatives while maintaining the integrity of core mandated functions.</p> | |
| <p>PAGE </p> | |
| <p>2007–2008 Fellow Project National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute PAGE 1 </p> | |
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