Envirnomental Health Specialist Network

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Description (provided by Applicant): The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has the long-term objective of participating in the forefront of data-based public health practice. The objective of this application is continued participation in the national Environmental Health Specialist Network (EHS-Net) as a state-based EHS-Net site. The Connecticut (CT) EHS-Net Program is applying to remain a collaborative effort involving DPH Epidemiology and Emerging Infections Program, DPH Food Protection Program, DPH State Laboratory, and FoodNet located at the Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. DPH will remain the lead agency for this cooperative agreement application. The objectives of EHS-Net are to: 1) identify environmental antecedents to foodborne illness and disease outbreaks; 2) translate findings into improved prevention efforts using a system-based approach; 3) offer training opportunities to current and future environmental health specialists; and 4) strengthen the relations among epidemiology, laboratory, and food protection programs. The CT EHS-Net is applying to continue participating in all functional EHS-Net activity areas including: a) outbreak and non-outbreak evaluations, b) denominator project, c) improved reporting of contributing factors, d) ground beef study, e) hand hygiene study, f) EHS-Net questions on the FoodNet Population Survey, g) foodborne alert complaint system, and h) grocery store survey. CT EHS-Net is proposing to conduct several new projects including: a) outbreak and non-outbreak evaluations at institutions such as daycare centers and nursing homes, b) evaluating the certified food manager requirement, c) promotion of risk of ill food workers, and d) a tomato study. CT EHS-Net will continue to work with local health departments to improve the quality of environmental investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks and to offer training opportunities in environmental health to students to improve the quality of environmental investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks and to offer training opportunities in environmental health to students to improve the public health workforce. CT EHS-Net will continue with the current staff which includes the PI and Senior Epidemiologist at the DPH Epidemiology and Emerging Infections Program; the Food Protection Program Coordinator and EHS-Net Environmental Health Specialist; staff at the DPH State Laboratoryl and the FoodNet Director at Yale University.