Director's Update - 2010
by Dr. Lisa Conti

There's no question we weathered a tough year. It feels all the world like the nearly constant hurricanes we survived in 2004, minus the blue tarp roofs. In addition to revenue shortfalls, we said final goodbyes to dear friends and family members, and had several long-term EPH'ers retire. Some of us endured seemingly catastrophic illness or injury, and yet, here we all are poised for a new year, a new decade ready to take on additional challenges, knowing there will be adversity around the corner. I believe our ability to withstand these hardships is rooted in our collective, innovative environmental public health vision, our honed technical skills and our mutual support of each other. I look forward to a productive and healthy 2010 with you.

Dr. Lisa Conti - Division of Environmental Public Health Director

County Corner

County health departments are doing great things to help achieve a healthy and sustainable Florida. This section is devoted to highlighting their achievements.

Pen Tablet Project Success -
Volusia County
By Regina Harris

In Volusia county, we currently have 6 inspectors participating in the mobile inspection pilot project, using Panasonic Toughbooks and HP 450 printers. We hope to have 7 more by the end of January 2010.  To make sure everyone is up to speed, we have been holding refresher training  once a quarter.

Something we like:

• importing the PDF copies of  the inspections into our document imaging system – we  do not print paper copies, which would get scanned into our document imaging system and then discarded

Overall, we think this project has been a very good experience

For more information on the project contact Geneen Simmons

Regina Harris - Database Analyst.

Geographical Information Systems – 2009 Synopsis
By Judith Ippolito

We celebrated GIS day in November at the Department of Health Headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. We showcased a large display was showcased in the CCOC lobbies to educate all DOH employees and the public about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geography Awareness Week.  The display included some of the projects completed by Environmental Public Health GIS staff.  Please the GIS Sharepoint site for an electronic version of the display.

On a different note - the DOH Enterprise GIS servers were recently replaced; none of your existing GIS map documents will work if you have not made the required changes to ArcGIS 9.3.1.   Also, ESRI has recently released a service pack for ArcGIS 9.3.1, it is highly recommended to install this service pack at your earliest convenience.

For your reading enjoyment, EPH Headquarters in Tallahassee now has the book Geographies of Health: an Introduction.  This revised second edition highlights the ways in which health may be studied from a geographical perspective, by using examples of links between health outcomes and the social and physical environments.  Here is a quick quote from the Introduction: “It is difficult to pick up a newspaper or magazine, or to listen to a television or radio bulletin without being alerted to a health problems, whether this be concerned with poor quality screening for a disease, a possible risk arising from environmental contamination, or the lack of access to the basic resources needed to live a healthy life.” GIS can be used as a tool to display the importance of these health outcomes to the public.

Migrant Housing Award Winners Announced
By Sharon Saulter

The Migrant Housing Awards program was developed last year as an incentive to reduce the proportion of occupied migrant housing establishments that are considered to be substandard.  This awards program recognizes the owners and operators that have taken exemplary measures or gone the extra mile to either build new establishments, purchase new housing or make substantial renovations to their existing establishments in an effort to provide the best housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers.  Winners of the award are determined by a committee that reviews and votes on the facilities that are nominated. Last year six owners and operators received awards

This year two Migrant Housing awards were given to an operator who owns migrant housing establishments in several counties.  Recently, the owner of a Company Called Six L’s Packing Company, Inc. developed a new migrant labor camp in Manatee County which consisted of 12 new mobile homes. This camp was purchased in April 2008 and named Farm Op I.  This company also purchased another piece of property in Lee County in a run-down, crime ridden community.  Prior to purchasing this property, the housing units had been vandalized numerous times.  The camp now consists of 40, 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom duplex units that have been completely renovated.  The renovations of this facility have greatly improved the image of the community (Charleston Park) from a slum-like appearance to an attractive and well-maintained neighborhood.  The renovations of the camp include new roofs and new appliances installed in all units.  Security guards are now provided for the migrant housing, which has contributed to improvement in the security and safety of the entire community.

Mr. Tom Larkin, the EH Director for the Manatee County Health Department is shown presenting Ms. Cindy Dan, Farm Op's Manager, a Migrant Housing Award for providing one of the "best migrant housing" establishments for the 2008/2009 permit year. 

Strike Team Exercises - Coming Spring 2010!
By Tracy Wade

The Division of Environmental Health (EH) Preparedness Program is partnering with the Office of Public Health Nursing (PHN), the Florida Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and the Bureau of Epidemiology (Epi) to bring 7 regional EH Strike Team exercises to the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) regions in the Spring of 2010.  Thanks to a project allocation from the Office of Public Health Preparedness through the CDC’s Cooperative Agreement Guidance for Public Health Emergency Preparedness, we will be able to hire a contractor to coordinate all efforts toward development and planning of the exercise under the direction of a planning team that includes members from all partner division/bureaus and regional strike team staff.  

The over-arching goal of these exercises is to allow each region’s multidisciplinary strike teams to coordinate response activities in a controlled environment, document improvement plans and lessons learned to build and maintain capability throughout all regions of Florida.  The exercises will simulate a response to a flooding event and highlight EH, Epi, MRC and PHN functions such as setting up a Special Needs Shelter, performing emergency field assessments using the new field PCs (available to some County Health Departments), communicating within and between response teams in the field, coordinating volunteers through the MRC and investigating an outbreak related to the disaster.

Feel free to contact myself or any of the regional strike team leaders if you have questions or comments related to the planning or scheduling of these exercises.  We look forward to providing these exercises and hope to provide many more in the future!

Tracy Wade
Environmental Health Preparedness Coordinator

Environmental Public Health Live Web Based Data Now Available
by Eric Montgomery

Department of Health environmental public health programs safeguard the health and well being of the people of Florida. Environmental public health, like any evidence-based profession relies on good data.  In the process of providing its services, staff collect quite a bit of information from many sources.

Examples of data collection efforts by environmental public health staff include monitoring 60% of Florida’s drinking water, inspecting more than 36,000 public swimming pools twice a year for safety and sanitation, monitoring water quality for 300 Florida beach sites for 14 million swimmers throughout the year, investigating the public health risks of up to 20 hazardous waste sites in Florida each year, overseeing 2.6 million onsite wastewater systems serving 38% of Florida’s population, investigating more than 100 food and waterborne outbreaks affecting 2000 people each year, licensing and inspecting approximately 20,000 radiation facilities across Florida, including hospitals, universities, construction companies and medical facilities.

In the past, environmental public health data collected by DOH has been available only by request.  To make these data readily available to the public, DOH is proud to announce the creation the Environmental Public Health Data section of the Division of Environmental Public Health website. Anyone can access and search data collected by the environmental public health staff and download custom searches.

The Environmental Public Health data pages can be accessed at http://www.myfloridaeh.com/ephdata.

CDC Hosts National Environmental Public Health Conference
By Dr. Lisa Conti

Recognizing the need for the profession to congregate and share information, CDC hosts their National Environmental Public Health Conference every 3 years. This fall, their conference stood out for a number of reasons, including:

• The agenda was developed by and reflected the priorities of a large number of partners
• The conference coordinators used green choices throughout the conference (e.g. limited hard copy agenda, local food choices, recycling bins, green hotel)
• Many partners had a large number of "tag on" meetings given the restrictions on travel throughout the country
• Notable plenary speakers, Amory Lovins and Majora Carter set both a visionary and implementable call for action
• Registration included an opportunity to match mentor/mentees.

Feedback from this national meeting about Florida's environmental public health program reflects extremely well on your extraordinary efforts and talents. It is clear that Florida's local and state public servants are routinely sought after to provide presentations, advisory board and other leadership capacity. You all shape the national agenda with your participation on national associations, your daily feet on the ground services and your professionalism. It is truly an honor to serve with you.

Dr. Lisa Conti - Division of Environmental Public Health Director.

Environmental Health Database - Moving Foward in 2010
By Kristen Grosh

The EHD team is working on moving all the programs from Centrax to EHD by June 30, 2010.  Training on the new programs is provided after each program is implemented into EHD.  Additional training documentation is sent out each month called the Tip of the Month.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to submit them to the EHD help desk or Kristen Grosh.   A newsletter with updates about the progress of the EHD team is sent out each month.  Below is the link to access the newsletters.

Kristen Grosh - EHD Project Manager

Public Health Benefits of Walkable Communities
By Sandra Whitehead

A growing scientific and public health consensus exists connecting the built environment, physical activity and overall health. But what makes a community walkable?

• Streets with grid-like patterns;
• The availability of mixed use;
• Proximity to public transit;
• The presence of sidewalks;
• Housing density;

Streets with grid-like patterns contain short blocks and fewer cul-de-sacs. This greater connectivity increases pedestrian activity. Long blocks and cul-de-sacs isolate streets and increase distance between destinations. Research shows that residents in walkable neighborhoods engage in moderate physical activity more frequently and for longer periods of time.

Mixed-use neighborhoods contain housing and destinations such as grocery stores and restaurants. They are regarded as intrinsically walkable. Mixed-use neighborhoods give residents the choice to walk for daily activities such as grocery shopping instead of using a car. Mixed-use neighborhoods also encourage more social and community interactions, compared to single-use neighborhoods.

Available public transit encourages walking behaviors because residents walk to stops, reducing car usage. Residents in areas close to destinations are more likely to complete basic activities such as shopping on foot. In addition, the elderly and those with disabilities benefit from nearby “basic needs centers” and transit stops.

The presence of sidewalks is associated with increased walking as well. People walk more in communities that have sidewalks in good condition, which lead to useful destinations and which are attractive. Specifically, people with access to well-maintained, shaded sidewalks are more likely to meet recommendations for moderate to vigorous exercise than those who do not.

The original platting of Venice that shows its grid-like layout.

A walkable community street

EH Employees of the Month for Winter 2010

The lifeblood of any organization is the employees, and the Division of Environmental is no different. Each month the division honors an employee who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make Florida a healthier state. Listed below are the Employees of the Month for Spring 2009. Thanks to all of you for the work you do.

• November 2009 - Laura Wehunt

Ms. Laura is always cheerful, pleasant and helpful. No matter how much responsibility she takes on, she always handles it with competence and grace. She is truly a jewel in our crown of outstanding administrative professionals.

• December 2009 - Dean Bodager

The December Employee of the Month, Dean Bodager, R.S., M.P.A. , D.A.A.S is the Regional Environmental Epidemiologist for the Central Florida area counties and is based in Orlando.  He is an outstanding Environmental Health professional and shares his experience and knowledge, both practical and technical, with his peers and colleagues at county health departments as well as with outside stakeholders.  For more than 25 years, Mr. Bodager has worked in Environmental Health with local county health department experience as a generalist in a variety of programs, and subsequently as a Migrant Labor Program Coordinator followed by a concentration on food safety and food and waterborne disease for the past 16 years.

Mr. Bodager has developed an impressive list of publications from his involvement in unique, substantive and high-profile food and waterborne disease outbreaks.  He is often looked to for advice by his peers and is regarded by his managers as being a dependable and “go-to” person in the event of a need for crisis management and as back-up for program management in the absence of his supervisor.

Mr. Bodager is a long-time member of FEHA (a lifetime member) as well as NEHA and has been elected to positions at all levels of the FEHA organization.  He is also committed to his NEHA membership and is on a technical review committee for the NEHA journal.  In addition, he reviews articles for both the FEHA and the NEHA journals.  He is also a Diplomate in the American Academy of Sanitarians (D.A.A.S.).  Over the past several years, Mr. Bodager has also worked with various stakeholders in his area (local, state and federal agencies as well as industries) on the Central Florida Food Safety Partnership to develop and implement outreach activities in food safety and foodborne illness prevention.

• January 2010 - Gloria Patterson

Gloria does a great job in supporting the  Bureau of Environmental Public Health Medicine.  She is dedicated and committed to provided excellent service and flawless products.  She is always professional, pleasant and patient with staff, people on the phone and others in need of her services. 

Our mailing address is:

Division of Environmental Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way Bin A-08
Tallahassee, Fl 32399-1712

Phone: 850-245-4250

Copyright (C) 2008 Division of Environmental Health - All rights reserved.