The Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative (The Collaborative) will gather 150 local, state and national experts at its third annual environmental health summit on September 28-29, 2010. The summit will be held at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and focus on America’s Healthcare Policy through the Lens of Environmental Health.
The decades-long debate on providing healthcare for citizens of the United States has been primarily restricted to the medical and public health communities and informed by research provided by scientists trained in those areas. Mostly overlooked is the recognition that pollutants and other environmental insults can contribute to impaired health in individuals, populations and communities, especially in disadvantaged communities leading to health disparities. Yet, the failure to recognize, prevent, and/or reduce such insults, may often lead to substantial healthcare costs and “too late” intervention strategies. It is also true that many agencies (e.g., EPA, HUD, DOT, and USDA) not viewed as “public health” agencies, per se; make decisions that have health related ramifications for almost all citizens.
Thus, environmental policy is health policy: as is also true for transportation, housing, and agricultural policies. Because of the prominence of the ongoing healthcare debate, there exists a tremendous opportunity to now interject the role of environmental (public) health knowledge, research and policy into the healthcare reform and policy dialogue. This is a critical discussion especially during a game-changing time (a new discourse) that provides an opportunity to link science, policy and the public interests. The current debate is focused on how to better deliver healthcare and who or how it should be paid; what is missing from the debate is how to reduce the costs of healthcare and the role of prevention.
This year’s summit will feature a broad and experienced group of participants representing wide areas of expertise and diverse views from their leadership in federal, state, and local governments; academia, industry, and public interest organizations.
“The Research Triangle region has become the epicenter for contemporary thinking about environmental health, and the Collaborative provides a neutral forum to host candid discussions and to provide advice on the most significant issues facing environmental health and related public policy,” said Collaborative chairman Ken Olden, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “The healthcare debate will be waged for years, and we have many experts in our region focused on meaningful solutions.”
The summit’s desired outcomes are to increase clarity about meaning of “environmentally-related disease prevention” and how it relates to the national healthcare debate and cost savings; and recommend elements of an action plan (e.g., policy, tools, outreach and education suggestions) for preventing adverse environmental health impacts (e.g., mortality/morbidity and associated healthcare costs) and promoting beneficial environmental health impacts.
Paul Anastas (EPA) will kick off the two-day event discussing “Design for Environmental Health,” followed by keynotes from Thomas Burke (The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) touting the importance of collaborating with agencies traditionally viewed as non-public health agencies, J. Nadine Gracia (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) explaining environmental contributions to health disparities, Jeffrey Engel (State Health Director) discussing environmental impacts on public health in North Carolina and Greg Kearney (CDC) presenting how the CDC tracking program informs health and healthcare decisions.
Tom Ricketts (UNC-Chapel Hill) will moderate a panel of multi-stakeholder perspectives regarding environmental impacts on public health in North Carolina featuring Dempsey Benton (N.C. Office of Economic Recovery and Investment), Wayne Cascio (East Carolina), Dee Freeman (N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources), Genie Komives (Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina), Donald Mattison (NIH National Institute of Child Health & Human Development) and Stan Meiburg (EPA).
Ned Brooks (UNC-Chapel Hill) will chair a work group on “policies that could prevent/reduce environmental impacts on health and healthcare systems.” It will include presentations from: Gene Conti (N.C. Department of Transportation), Bill Ross (Duke Nicholas School of the Environment/Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center), Susan Lyon Stone (EPA) and Steve Wing (UNC-Chapel Hill).
Gwen Collman (NIEHS/NIH) will chair a work group on “research/analytical tools to support existing policy or policy changes to reduce environmental impacts on human health and healthcare systems.” It will include presentations from: Bryan Hubbell (EPA), Jackie MacDonald Gibson (UNC-Chapel Hill), Marie Lynn Miranda (Duke) and Kara Vonasek (The Pew Charitable Trusts).
Pam Silberman (N.C. Institute of Medicine) will chair a work group on “outreach, education and mobilization about impact of environmental quality on human health and healthcare system.” It will include presentations from: Jay Levine (N.C. State), Katherine Shea (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Omega Wilson (West End Revitalization Association).
About the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative
The Research Triangle area of North Carolina (The Collaborative) is unique with respect to the number of world-class organizations focused on environmental health research and policy and has become the epicenter of contemporary thinking about environmental health. The Collaborative is a non-profit organization supporting a united environmental health resource that connects organizations and institutions; links research and policy; and joins government, academia, industry, and public interest groups to mutually consider, discuss and debate the future of environmental health on a regional, national and international level. It provides a neutral forum to host candid discussions and to provide advice on the most significant issues facing environmental health and related public policy.
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