This is my Fall 2013 Newsletter for Region 7 NEHA members, and you might find the information interesting.

National Environmental Health Association

NEHA Update Fall 2013

John A. Steward, R.E.H.S., M.P.H.

Regional Vice President, Region Seven

We have entered the 2013 holiday season, and all of the officers and staff of the National Environmental Health Association wish you and your family the best as you celebrate your tradition and beliefs.  As Regional Vice President for Region Seven, it is a privilege to serve NEHA members in the seven southeastern states that comprise Region Seven.  This is a short update of recent NEHA activities and news. 

2014 NEHA Annual Educational Conference

The 2014 NEHA Annual Educational Conference will be held July 7-10 in Las Vegas Nevada.  It will be conducted in partnership with the International Federation of Environmental Health, and it will be the first time that the U.S. has hosted the World Congress on Environmental Health.  See http://www.neha2014aec.org/ for more information and to register.  Many nationally and internationally-recognized speakers will be present, and a dynamic slate of learning activities is planned.  We expect great attendance, with people attending from all parts of the world. Look for scholarship opportunities soon to support attendance.  For those who cannot be physically present, NEHA will again arrange a “virtual conference” via web link, which will allow participants online to experience 20-30 sessions live.  Many of the sessions also will be recorded and made available later on theNEHA.org web page. These are available free to NEHA members.  The 2015 AEC will be held in Orlando Florida, followed by a western U.S. site in 2016.

Around the Region

State conferences held this year have included Alabama (April, Birmingham), Georgia (June, Jekyll Island), North Carolina (September, Asheville), Florida (September, Sandestin Resort), and South Carolina (November, Columbia).  In addition, the Interstate Environmental Health Seminar, which draws attendees from the South and Mid-Atlantic areas, was held in Kent Island Maryland in July. The 2014 Interstate Seminar will be held in Savannah Georgia July 16-18. Seehttp://www.wvdhhr.org/wvas/iehs/ for information.

Journal of Environmental Health Now Available Electronically

NEHA’s Journal of Environmental Health has developed an electronic version, and it is being provided to members at no additional charge!  We soon will begin a new international membership, and those members will receive only the electronic Journal.  In the near future, we will do the same for students. For now, regular members will have the option of electronic, print, or both formats of the Journal.  We are exploring strategies to keep membership costs as low as possible.

New Food Safety Credential

NEHA is conducting many activities to support the implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act.  NEHA has a new food safety credential called the “Certified in Comprehensive Food Safety” (CCFS). This credentialed practitioner will have a span of food safety knowledge from “farm to fork.”  See more information athttp://www.neha.org/credential/#ccfs.

Definitions!

NEHA has published new definitions of the terms “environmental health” and “environmental health practitioner.”  The products were the result of a workgroup of NEHA directors and experts, and a public comment period allowed members’ input and helped to shape the results.  Read about the new definitions at:http://www.neha.org/pdf/positions/NEHA_Adopted_EH_Definition_July_2013.pdf.

Awards and More Opportunities

Each year, NEHA gives a number of individual and team awards for career achievement and outstanding programs.  Region Seven has a great record of earning these honors, including CAPT Mike Herring, a current Georgia resident and favorite son of North Carolina, who received the Walter Mangold award at the AEC this year!  New group awards for “Environmental Health Innovation” and “Educational Contribution” were added in 2013.  See information at http://www.neha.org/about/awardinfo.html. Another great individual opportunity is the UL/NEHA Sabbatical Exchange. A NEHA member is awarded a stipend for a trip to either the United Kingdom or Canada.  The application deadline is March 1, and information is found at http://www.neha.org/about/Awards/SabbaticalExchangeAward.html.

Meet NEHA’s President

NEHA’s President this year is Alicia Enriquez Collins, an environmental health professional originally from California who now resides in Atlanta Georgia.  Ms. Collins has been active in governing NEHA as member of the Board of Directors for several years.

Elections

I am completing my three-year term as Regional Vice President next year and have decided not to run for re-election.  NEHA members within Region 7 may submit a self-nomination for the open position until January 1 2014.  If more than one qualified person is nominated, NEHA conducts an election by electronic ballot.  This year, the election of officers will be in March 2014 for a term to begin in July 2014. NEHA members should be alert for an electronic ballot email in late February 2014.  See more information and nomination forms athttp://www.neha.org/about/elections.html. 

If you have not visited NEHA.org recently, check out the great resources including FREE training.  Also, “like” us on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/NEHA.org.  Please feel free to contact me at jsteward@gsu.edu. Find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jstewardatl, and I write a blog athttp://tinyurl.com/jstewardEHblog.

World Environmental Health Day

September 26 is World Environmental Health Day.  It is a day to celebrate what we do to promote people's health and well-being by taking actions to ensure a healthy environment around the world. To many, the concept "environment" means protecting our planet.  As important as this is, environmental protection is only part of the needed actions.  We also need to ensure that the conditions in which people live provide the opportunities for good health and safety.

Some of our most critical global challenges include the following:

•  For a billion of us, each day is a struggle to obtain water, and often it is contaminated with microbes and chemicals.  Illnesses borne by contaminated drinking water kills a million children a year. 
• In many places, the lack of proper waste disposal systems and practices perputuate a cycle of disease-contamination of water and food- more disease.
• Air pollution kills millions of people each year and causes an even larger burden of disease and disability around the world from exposure to smoke, particles, and gases from unsafe home heating and cooking, cars and other vehicles, industry, and electrical production.
• We continue to introduce chemicals into the environment without adequate testing to fully understand the potential to harm people. Each of us carries a chemical burden in our bodies.
• Our food supply is subject to contamination at many points in the system.  We grow and harvest what is cheap, easy to distribute, and high in calories, but not necessarily what is best for nutrition.  Many question whether chemical and energy-intensive practices of industrial agriculture are sustainable.
• Beginning around 2007, more people in the world live in urban settings rather than the rural places that once predominated. As cities develop, safe and healthy housing and sanitation are not available to many.  The concentration of pollution created by large numbers of people and commerce must be managed.  Urban design principles must consider human health and needs in these burgeoning cities.
• We have yet to develop the will to address the human causes of global climate change or understanding of the profound implications for both the planet and the people.

In the U.S., we are more fortunate than many in the world to have environmental health conditions that promote people's health and safeguards for protection.  We have invested in safe water supplies, sound waste disposal practices, a food supply that protects against food borne illness, worker safety, and protection against illness like malaria and rabies.  Yet, we continue to face significant challenges like ensuring environmental benefits and protection for all Americans, controlling sources of air pollution, and designing communities that encourage people to pursue healthy lifestyles.  We need support in these areas from politicians, government leaders, industry, and most of all each citizen.  World Environmental Health Day is a chance to remind and encourage all to be part of the solution.

Learn more at www.ifeh.org.