Funded Program:
National Environmental Public Health Tracking - Network Implementation
Program Announcement # EH06-601

Program Description:

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Its state Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network has been implemented by leveraging existing informatics infrastructure within the state. Version 1.0 of Maine’s Tracking Network will have several functions, including:

• A public and secure portal with role-based security and with user authentication to ensure only properly authorized users gain access;
• A content repository to store routinely generated reports, custom reports developed by Maine Tracking Program staff, and nationally consistent data and measures;
• A metadata repository; and
• Machine-to-machine transmissions essential to the EPHT network for securely exchanging data files with other EPHT entities.

In the future, the Maine Tracking Program plans to update its network by incorporating an analysis visualization reporting toolkit, thus allowing user-directed, ad hoc queries of aggregated data and an expansion of tracked content areas.

The Maine Tracking Program will initially track the following core health effects and environmental measures:

• Asthma and heart attacks,
• Blood lead levels in children,
• Drinking water contaminants, and
• Air quality.

Additionally, in conjunction with a new active case-base surveillance system, the Maine Tracking Program will track carbon monoxide poisonings on its state network. Maine will also track asthma emergency department visits associated with ambient air ozone pollution and with private well test data.