Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105153

Robyn Gilden, RN, MS, Environmental Health Education Center, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing, 655 W. Lombard St., Rm 665, Baltimore, MD 21201, 410-706-4803, rgilden@son.umaryland.edu, Rebecca L. Clouse, RN BS, Environmental Health Education Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing, 655 W. Lombard Street, Room 665, Baltimore, MD 21201, and Barbara Sattler, RN, DrPH, Environmental Health Education Center, University of Maryland, School of Nursing, 655 West Lombard Street, Room 665, Baltimore, MD 21201-1579.

Contaminated land (Brownfield and similar properties) is a pervasive issue throughout the United States and many programs at the local, state, and federal levels are addressing assessment, cleanup and redevelopment of these potential blights to communities. Increasingly, although sometimes overlooked, community members are getting informed and involved in decisions about contaminated properties in their midst as they are the most directly affected by any contamination issues and reuse options. In an effort to ensure community members are invited meaningfully into the process, Environmental Health Nurses at University of Maryland School of Nursing's Environmental Health Education Center, as part of their work with the EPA-funded Hazardous Substance Research Center, have partnered with Maryland Department of Environment and community stakeholder groups on several pilot projects related to Brownfield sites throughout Maryland. Five case studies will be discussed in this session, each with its own unique perspective but also with shared commonalities.

Topics will include: 1. Building new partnerships between community, government, academia, business, and non-profits. 2. Steps in the process of convening stakeholders, facilitating consensus building, developing communication strategies, and other activities. 3. Benefits of early and on-going communication and community collaboration. 4. Pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned.

Audience members will be encouraged to share comments, questions, and suggestions to improve and replicate community involvement projects in their own locales.

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to

• Describe process for engaging and collaborating with community stakeholders around contaminated site issues.
• Discuss benefits and pitfalls encountered while conducting community involvement in Brownfield Redevelopment projects.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation