| About Us |
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| Welcome to the Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) web site. |
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| Vision |
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In January 2001, the Pew Environmental Health Commission reported that tracking of disease and exposure is fragmented, uncoordinated, and inadequate and called for the creation of a coordinated public health system to prevent disease in the United States by tracking and combating environmental health threats. In response, the United States Congress appropriated funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fiscal Year 2002. This funding enabled the development of CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program.
Oregon is a partner in this project through a cooperative agreement with the CDC. Initially, Oregon received over three years of funding to plan and build capacity for Environmental Public Health Tracking in our state. In August of 2006 Oregon EPHT was awarded a five-year grant to implement a tracking network that works in collaboration with the CDC national network yet is responsive to Oregon’s specific needs.
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| Mission Statement |
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The purpose of the Oregon EPHT Program is to help develop a nationwide network of health and environmental data that will drive actions to improve the health of communities. Oregon has made strides in fulfilling the mission of EPHT by working with data partners, stakeholders, and building capacity for data exchanges and data collection as well as providing education, training, and support for environmental public health in Oregon. During the implementation phase (August 2006 - July 2011), we will expand on these successes and develop systems to share data between environmental and public health officials and provide information to the public.
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| Organization |
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Annual Performance Measures
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| Programs |
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Oregon EPHT goals:
- Implement an EPHT Network that will be part of the National EPHT Network.
- Increase awareness of the EPHT program in Oregon.
- Foster collaboration among health and environmental agencies.
- Support the development of a State of Oregon EPHT Network that is interoperable and compatible with the National CDC Networks standards and architecture.
- Evaluate and provide feedback to the CDC to improve and advance the National EPHT Program.
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Major Activities:
- Work with the Office of Information Services to design and build a state data network that will serve as the State EPHT Network as well as interface with the National Network.
- Collaborate with agencies and stakeholders to identify needs and priorities, and to promote resource and information sharing to advance environmental health and facilitate public health actions.
- Generate core measure data for the Network by collecting data from heath and environmental agencies, health care and insurance providers. In the five years we are to collect data on asthma and myocardial infarction hospitalizations, ozone and particulate matter levels, drinking water contaminants, childhood blood lead levels, vital statistics, birth defects and cancers.
- Develop, implement and assess an outreach plan and risk communication strategy.
- Establish a State Technical Advisory Group for the EPHT program.
- Facilitate and encourage environmental health-related training within state.
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of all tracking activities in state.
- Participate in required National EPHT workgroups and subgroups for Network implementation.
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