USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium: Environmental Health Officer Agenda
08:00
a.m. – 08:30 a.m. Category Brief & Welcoming Address
CAPT Craig Shepherd, USPHS, Chief Environmental Health Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service
08:30
a.m. – 09:15 a.m. Deployments: The Role of Environmental Health in the Health Diplomacy Missions Aboard the USNS Comfort and USS Peleliu
CDR Dale Bates, MPH, USPHS, Senior Public Health Analyst, Health Resources and Services Administration LCDR Stephen Piontkowski, MS, USPHS, Environmental Health Officer, Indian Health Service
LCDR Aimee Treffiletti, MPH, USPHS, Environmental Health Officer, Center for Disease Control and Prevention LT Jason Mangum, USPHS, Industrial Hygienist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Presentation (pdf, 12.6 MB)
This session will review the experiences of Public Health Service (PHS) officers who served on the USNS Comfort and USS Peleliu humanitarian missions during the summer and fall of 2007. The session will include information about the mission, the impact that PHS officers can have while serving beside military personnel, and lessons learned.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe the different ways that EHOs can contribute to preventative medicine in underserved populations in foreign nations
• Discuss the skill sets USPHS EHOs bring to a health diplomacy mission
• Identify the key skill sets needed to interact with host nations and United States military personnel
09:15
a.m. – 10:00 a.m. The Early Years of the Public Health Service Sanitarian Category
CAPT Alan Dellapenna MPH, USPHS, Gold Book Project Coordinator, Office of Public Health Support, Indian Health Service
Presentation (pps, 1.84MB)
The session will describe the factors that led to the establishment of the Sanitarian/EHO category. The presenter will use archival records, historic photos, and oral history interviews with early Commissioned Officer sanitarians and engineers. Assignments and work performed in the early days of the category will be described. The role of early sanitarians in the professional development of the field of environmental health will be discussed.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe the factors that lead to the establishment of the sanitarian category in 1943
• Discuss the contributions of the sanitarian category to the development of the profession of environmental health
• Describe the work performed by sanitarians in the early years of the category
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. The Environmental Health Role in Injury Prevention
LCDR Robert Morones, USPHS, Injury Prevention Coordinator, Phoenix Area Indian Health Service
pps (20.6MB) | pdf (3.17MB)
This session will provide an overview of how Indian Health Service injury prevention practitioners are working to address injuries, which are the leading cause of death to all Native American and Alaskan Natives 1-44 years of age. This session will discuss the common methods used to combat this problem.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe why injury prevention is a part of the environmental health program
• Identify the guiding principles of injury prevention: capacity building, partnerships and collaborations, reliable data, and community based prevention
• Provide examples of effective implementation
10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Barriers to Child Occupant Restraint Use on a Southwestern Native American Reservation
Presentation (pps, 1.70MB)
This session will examine the use of child occupant restraints on one reservation. Nationally, motor vehicle injuries are the second leading cause of death for Native American children ages one to nine years. Child occupant restraints reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. Observational restraint surveys on a Native American Reservation in the Southwestern United States in 2005 revealed that only 8.5 percent of the children were restrained in child occupant restraints. The presenters will discuss barriers to the use of child occupant restraints and methods to overcome those barriers.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Identify reasons for low child occupant restraint use on a Native American Reservation
• Describe how focus groups and key informant interviews can be applied by environmental health professionals to address the problem
• Discuss proven strategies to overcome barriers to child occupant restraint use
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Characterization of Fugitive Landfill Gas Emissions
Presentation (pps, 7.42MB)
This session will describe how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Waste Management Inc. (WM) plan to conduct a pilot tracer release study at the company's Louisville KY landfill site. The purpose of the pilot study is to prepare for a large project next year to perform tracer release studies at a number of WM landfills in the United States
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Discuss how to determine the representative emissions source area
• Describe isolating emissions from different source areas within the landfill facility
• Discuss the effects of topography and complex wind flow on plume capture
02:00 p.m. – 02:30 p.m. Environmental Public Health Implications of Climate Change in Rural Alaska
This session will describe how the Alaskan arctic is particularly susceptible to issues related to climate change. Several Alaskan coastal communities are threatened by fall sea storm damage. The public health implications of conditions attributed to climate change in rural Alaskan communities will be discussed.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe possible linkages between climate change and human health
• Identify methods for assessing the health consequences of circumstances attributed to climate change
• Discuss the environmental public health considerations for community relocation
02:30 p.m. – 03:00 p.m. Front Lines of Defense: U.S. Department of Agriculture Prepares for Avian Influenza
LCDR Jeff Tarrant, MS, USPHS, Program Management Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
This session will address ongoing USDA prevention and preparedness activities, domestically and internationally, targeting avian influenza.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Delineate U.S. Department of Agriculture roles and responsibilities regarding avian influenza surveillance, response, eradication and communication activities in the United States
• Discuss prevention and preparedness activities the USDA is currently engaged in domestically and internationally, to prevent, control and eradicate avian influenza where it currently exists
03:00 p.m. – 03:15 p.m. Break
03:15 p.m. – 03:45 p.m. Semper Paratus: EHO readiness in the US Coast Guard
LCDR Carolyn Oyster, MPH, USPHS, Safety and Environmental Health Office, United States Coast Guard
LT Justin Gerding, MPH, USPHS, Safety and Environmental Health Office, United States Coast Guard
This session will provide an overview of the US Coast Guard’s Maintenance and Logistic Command (MLC) Atlantic Safety and Environmental Health section, describe EHO roles in the USCG and review 21st Century safety and occupational health projects.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe the MLC-Atlantic Safety and Environmental Health Section for the 21st Century
• Discuss several current safety and occupational health projects for the US Coast Guard
03:45 p.m. – 04:15 a.m. Northern EHO-sure: Environmental Health in the Last Frontier
LTJG Christopher Dankmeyer, USPHS, Environmental Health Officer, Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation
This session is intended to engage the audience with an introduction to current environmental health activities in Alaska. Included in the presentation will be a synopsis of what EHOs are currently doing and what they are likely confront in the future.
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe he unique duties and challenges of a rural Alaska assignment (Iso Hard, Hazardous Duty, Hard-to-fill)
• Discuss current and emerging issues regarding Alaska environmental and public health along with some possible solutions.