251777 Advancing Community Health through Brownfields Redevelopment, Environmental Justice, and Sustainability Initiatives

Monday, October 31, 2011: 8:50 AM

B. Suzi Ruhl, JD, MPH , Office of Environmental Justice, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
     
The connection between health, environmental justice, and sustainability is ever present, stemming from shared challenges to leveraging opportunities. Brownfields redevelopment, environmental justice, and sustainability are important initiatives that focus on this connection. These initiatives are increasing access to health and health care for environmentally burdened and medically underserved populations. This presentation will explain these initiatives and the "vision" of bridging environment and health to achieve individual and community health. It will also highlight the importance of federally qualified health centers as vehicles for collaboration among diverse stakeholders representing public health, environmental justice, sustainability and brownfields interests.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Environmental health sciences
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1.Attendees will be able to define the link between health care, environmental justice, and sustainability. 2.Attendees will be able to describe EPA’s capacity programs (e.g. funding, technical assistance) for contaminated site response (e.g. brownfields) . 3. Attendees will be able to describe federal public health and sustainability efforts that support increasing access to comprehensive health care.

Keywords: Community Health, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Expertise and experience in addressing access to health care for environmentally burdened and medically underserved communities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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