Oral

In this session, presenters will discuss the relation between “green” and “healthy” housing. A speaker with the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) will present a Green Buildings Analysis which compared major national green building and indoor air quality guidelines to assess the health and safety benefits of the programs. Also discussed will be the Minnesota Green Housing Rehabilitation project undertaken by NCHH using the Green Communities criteria to demonstrate practical measures to reduce health hazards during the substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing. Speakers will provide information about creating partnerships to promote the use of greener pest control methods in multi-family housing focusing on the Healthy Pest Free Housing Initiative (HPFHI) in Boston public housing. The Boston Housing Authority instituted systems to promote green pest control, including contract specifications, tracking and assistance to infested units, and orientation for new manager and residents which have reduced resident complaints about cockroaches by up to 75%. The presenters will discuss strategies for engaging key stakeholders in greener pest management and will provide information on funding, training, and educational resources to promote green pest management. The final speaker will discuss building a business case for providing funding for in-home, green interventions for asthma control based on work conducted by the Asthma Regional Council and the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The speaker will address this framework as a useful tool for decision-makers in government, private and public insurance plans, provider and advocacy organizations.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe the relation between healthy and green building. 2. Identify strategies to engage stakeholders in a safe pest control campaign 3. Describe the information needed to establish a business case for asthma education and home-based environmental improvements.