Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units National Program Office - Background and Need: Understanding the links between environmental exposures and pediatric and reproductive health is crucial for promoting lifelong health across generations. Translating science into understandable information and feasible actions that parents and children can take to decrease risk is key to primary prevention and is something the PEHSU program has been doing for 25+ years. US Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2030 has set out a national roadmap for improving health and well-being, with a strong focus on promoting healthier environments. Using 26 years of lessons learned, the PEHSU program must expand its reach through increasing partnerships and collaborations, improving use of technology to increase efficiencies and communication, developing innovative approaches to evaluate the efficacy of outreach activities, and integrating environmental equity into all aspects of its activities. Purpose and Approach: The Public Health Institute (PHI) with our partner, the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), propose to serve as the PEHSU NPO. The PHI-AOEC team will facilitate and amplify the capacity of the PEHSU network to prevent/mitigate hazardous environmental exposures during fetal childhood, adolescent development, and the preconception period. We will build on the PEHSU network’s success and evaluate the reach, impact and effectiveness of the PEHSU’s activities, especially as it relates to underserved communities. The PHI-AOEC team will serve ATSDR and the regional PEHSUs to communicate the return on investment of the program, integrate sustainability into planning, improve financial processes, obtain additional funding and partners, and maximize internal collaboration through a servant leadership approach. Our approach includes a robust team of several full-time key staff with deep experience implementing similar programs. In addition our team brings the following credentials: • A long record of successful CDC and federally funded projects in national network coordination and management; • nuanced understanding of the technical work through AOEC’s 40+ clinics and 100+ members throughout the US; • existing foundation of credibility and relationships with the current network of PEHSUs and other project counterparts; and • a unique trust-based relationship-driven approach to serving the greater needs of the PEHSU program. • a positive reputation as a strong federal implementing partner which brings robust financial and operational management systems to streamline NPO efforts and overall management of the network, including distribution of funds to the PEHSUs and subaward management of multiple stakeholders. Outcomes: During the period of performance, the PHI-AOEC team intends to achieve the short-term and intermediate outcomes of the project described in the NOFO’s logic model in deep collaboration with the regional PEHSU teams. These include outcomes such as increased integration of environmental health content within clinical curriculum (short-term) & increased recognition of individuals impacted by environmental exposures (intermediate). Strategies and Activities: The PHI-AOEC team’s strategy is based upon and in alignment with the NPO specific activities within the NOFO logic model and are organized in four main categories: PEHSU Management; Communications; Data, Performance and Knowledge Management; and Technical Guidance and Assistance. The 34 activities proposed within these categories are designed to directly enhance the capacity of the PEHSU network through the provision of streamlined NPO operations and network management and the provision of technical guidance and assistance for the PEHSUs.
