We can't believe how quickly this month flew by! Earlier this month we had the opportunity to attend the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) conference in North Carolina. The National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS) established the PEPH conference in 2009 as a means to promote community engagement in the field of environmental public health.
We also had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Peter Welch's office this month. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss our research and the impacts its had since we started enrolling study participants in 2009. We met with Thifeen Deen, a Health Care and Human Services Outreach Representative. Over lunch, we discussed the origins of our interest in studying the effects of naturally occurring arsenic throughout New Hampshire and Vermont bedrock. With Groundwater Awareness Week coming up in March, we stressed the importance of regularly testing well-water to ensure that unsafe amounts of arsenic are not contaminating your water source if you have a private well system.
To learn more about Groundwater Awareness Week visit the Groundwater Association's website here.
Check back in with us in March for helpful tips on how to test your private well!
Scroll through the pics below to see some of our favorite presentations at the conference.
Dr. Maida Galvez, a pediatrician from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Galvez presented on the importance of environmental health screening during routine pediatric care.
Virginia Guidry PhD, is the Branch Head of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology at North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She presented on PFAS water contamination in North Carolina
Claudia Thompson PhD, is the Chief of the Population Health branch at NIEHS. She is seen here giving closing remarks about the future of PEPH.
We were also pleased to be mentioned in a presentation about Community Engagement through Social Media use. Our social media platforms were used an example of great engaging social media practice!
