environmental justice and sustainability at u.s. department of health and human services by...

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION . EDUCATION AND TRAINING . RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND UTILIZATION . SERVICES

Policy Development and Dissemination Education and Training ServicesResearch and Data Collection, Analysis, and Utilization

Environmental Justice and Sustainability at

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Sandra N. HowardSenior Environmental Health Advisor

U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesNational Environmental Justice Conference

and Training Program April 4, 2013

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Purpose

• Provide an update on implementation of the 2012 HHS Environmental Justice (EJ) Strategy, focusing on actions related to sustainability

• Describe other HHS activities that equitably promote healthy environments

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HHS EJ Strategy and Implementation Progress Reports

• 2012 HHS EJ Strategy and Implementation Plan released February 2012¹

• 2012 Implementation Progress Report also released February 2012– Progress Reports to be posted

annually as a condition of the Memorandum of Understanding

• 2013 HHS EJ Implementation Progress Report will be posted to the HHS EJ Website in the coming weeks

¹ HHS EJ Website: www.hhs.gov/environmentaljustice

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HHS Environmental Justice Strategy Framework

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2013 HHS Implementation Progress Report

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Status of EJ Actions

Target Met/Ongo-ingOngoingInactive

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Selected EJ Accomplishments Related to Sustainability

• Super Storm Sandy• Climate Change• Emergency Response and Preparedness• Health Resources and Services Administration

Training and Technical Assistance to Community Health Centers

• Administration for Native Americans Funding Opportunity and Technical Assistance

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Super Storm Sandy

• HHS engaged in a variety of response efforts to protect day laborers, homeowners, community volunteers and other cleanup workers – NIEHS Worker Education and Training Program (WETP)

grantees have supplied worker safety awareness training, through existing programs in their New York and New Jersey communities

– 550 response workers have been trained in the basic safety awareness course by NIEHS-supported trainers• More than 41,000 educational booklets in multiple languages have

been distributed to responders to inform them of potential environmental exposures

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Climate Change

• E.O. 13514 calls for agencies to develop climate adaptation plans that enable preparing for and responding to a changing climate. – HHS Climate Change Adaptation Plan is now

available for public comment ²

² HHS Climate Change Adaptation Plan Website: http://www.hhs.gov/about/sustainability/adaptation-plan.pdf

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Climate Change

• CDC’s Climate Ready States and Cities Initiative– Successfully established multiple cooperative agreements and

has begun developing various decision support tools for communication, education, and vulnerability mapping as it relates to climate change.

• CDC’s Building Resilience against Climate Effect (BRACE) Framework – Developed 3 training webinars on the Framework and piloted

them with the Climate Ready grantees. – Will conduct additional webinars for grantees of NACCHO and

ASTHO by the end of 2013

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Climate Change

• NIH funded 5 new grants in 2012 under FOA, “Climate Change and Health: Assessing and Modeling Population Vulnerability to Climate Change”

• In January, NIH and CDC held a joint workshop for their climate change grantees, “Extreme Weather, Climate and Health: Putting Science into Practice”– For the first time, public health practitioners at the state and local

level who are grantees of the CDC met with NIH-funded academic researchers to inform each other of their priorities and needs

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Emergency Preparedness

• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response addressed the health and human services needs of vulnerable populations, including economically disenfranchised individuals, minority populations, and people with Limited English Proficiency– Developed and implemented the HHS Disaster Behavioral Health

Concept of Operations.– Initiated development of the HHS Disaster Human Services Concept

of Operations.

• Coming Soon: Funding Opportunity Announcement to Support Scientific Research Related to Recovery from Hurricane Sandy

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HRSA and NIOSH Provide Training and Technical Assistance to Community Health Centers

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) supports National Cooperative Agreements (NCAs) that provide training and technical assistance to Community Health Centers to promote primary health access for vulnerable populations; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) supports training capacity building

– NIOSH Migrant Clinicians Network and HRSA’s NCAs provide exposure training for clinicians and have partnered with the Association of Farmworkers Opportunities Programs on pesticides and health and safety

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Administration for Native Americans Technical Assistance and Funding Opportunity

• Proposed a new funding opportunity announcement for FY2013 under the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) program, targeting 5-year projects that seek to implement economic development strategies that focus on sustainable employment and business opportunities in Native American communities

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Promoting Healthy Community Environments

Sustainability

Health EquityEnvironmental Justice

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Healthy People 2020

• EH Goal - Promote health for all through a healthy environment– Outdoor air quality– Surface and ground water

quality– Toxic substances and

hazardous wastes– Homes and communities– Infrastructure and

surveillance– Global environmental health

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National Prevention Strategy

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EXECUTIVE ORDER 13514FEDERAL LEADERSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY,

AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE• Section 1. Policy. In order to create a clean energy economy that

will increase our Nation's prosperity, promote energy security, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of our environment, the Federal Government must lead by example. . . .– Signed October, 2009– Numerical and non-numerical targets for:

• energy and water efficiency, • reduction of waste and greenhouse gas emissions, • sustainable building design and comprehensive land use planning, • electronic stewardship • sustainable acquisitions

– Section 8(i): evaluate agency climate-change risks and vulnerabilities to manage the effects of climate change on the agency’s operations and mission in both the short and long term

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Let’s Move!• Comprehensive initiative, launched

by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation– Increase options for affordable

transportation to parks and open spaces

– Incorporate physical activity into the planning and design of every physical improvement to a city

– Incorporate pedestrian and bicycle lanes into street development

– Enhance public safety near parks and other public spaces

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HHS Health Disparities Action Plan

• iii.A.1 Build community capacity to implement evidence-based policies and environmental, programmatic, and infrastructure change strategies

• iii.B: conduct and evaluate pilot tests of health disparity impact assessments of selected proposed national policies and programs

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National Health Security Strategy• Vision for health security:

built on a foundation of community resilience - healthy individuals, families, and communities with access to health care and with the knowledge and resources to know what to do to care for themselves and others in both routine and emergency situations

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Asthma Disparities Action Plan• Four Strategies:

– Reduce barriers to the implementation of guidelines-based asthma management

– Enhance capacity to deliver integrated, comprehensive asthma care to children in communities with racial and ethnic asthma disparities

– Improve capacity to identify the children most impacted by asthma disparities

– Accelerate efforts to identify and test interventions that may prevent the onset of asthma

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THANK YOUSandra N. Howard

Senior Environmental Health AdvisorU.S. Department

of Health and Human ServicesSandra.Howard@hhs.gov

LT Ron MilamEnvironmental Health Officer

U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesRon.Milam@hhs.gov