Partner Profiles: National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)

Organizational Mission/Goals

The mission of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is to advance the environmental health and protection professional for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all.

About NEHA

NEHA had its origins in the state of California where it was incorporated in 1937. The original impetus behind the creation of a national professional society for environmental health practitioners was the desire by professionals to establish a standard of excellence for this developing profession. This standard, which has come to be known as the Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) credential, evidences that one has mastered a body of knowledge (which is verified through the passing of an examination) and has acquired sufficient experience, thereby indicating that work responsibilities in the environmental health field can be satisfactorily performed. The pioneers of the association believed that such a credential was necessary if the environmental health field was to grow and take shape as a legitimate and widely respected profession.

Drawing on the original effort that led to the creation of NEHA, the association today stands as a 5,000-member-strong professional society. NEHA offers a variety of programs that are all in keeping with the association's mission which is as relevant today as it was when the organization was founded.

Partnership Activities with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

NEHA’s main objectives for the National Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) project are to:

• Learn more about environmental health professionals current level of knowledge and understanding of EPHT.
• Increase the knowledge base of environmental health professionals of the nationwide health tracking initiative by disseminating relevant information.
• Collaborate with the following organizations to help develop of National EPHT Program and Network:
  • Association of Public Health Laboratories
  • Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
  • Environmental Council of the States
  • National Association of County and City Health Officials
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

For more information on tracking activities at NEHA, visit:
http://www.neha.org/research/enviro_public_health_tracking_program.html.

To help assure that NEHA activities in this program are tailored to stakeholder needs, please take a moment to complete the on-line health tracking questionnaire at the following link:
http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=54X0LHHF3BMQ.

Contact Information

Thomas E. Dickey, REHS
Project Coordinator, Research and Development
National Environmental Health Association
27004 Glynns Creek Court
Eldridge, IA 52748
Phone: (563) 285-7870
tdickey@neha.org
http://www.neha.org/

Susan E. Jerles
Project Specialist, IAQ/EPHT/Land Use Planning, Research & Development
National Environmental Health Association
720 S. Colorado Blvd. Suite 970-S
Denver, CO 80246-1925
Phone: (303) 756-9090 Ext. 310
Fax: (303) 691-9490
sjerles@neha.org
http://www.neha.org/

 

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