Environmental and public health practitioners met in Ankeny on April 28 to consider how Iowa’s environmental health system can be improved to address community environmental concerns. The State Hygienic Laboratory hosted the Environmental Health Conference, “Improving Environmental Health through Innovation, Practice and Policy,” which was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Iowa and New Hampshire are the first two states to conduct these statewide conferences. The goals are to identify and prioritize environmental health concerns, define and evaluate processes for community engagement, explore opportunities to enhance or improve the system, and determine techniques for effective outreach and community engagement.

“The overarching goal of the meeting was to identify ways for the general public to access Iowa’s environmental health system and to address community environmental health concerns,” said Michael Wichman, Ph.D., associate director of the Hygienic Lab and head of its Environmental Health Division.

“This funding allowed us to bring together a diverse group representing academia, local, state and federal partners to discuss the breadth of environmental issues throughout the state and identify potential ways to address them,” Wichman added.

The results of the Iowa and the New Hampshire meetings will be compiled in a report by the Association of Public Health Laboratories, expected this summer.

Gathered for Iowa’s Environmental Health Conference are (front row, from left) Juliana Birkhoff, Birkhoff and Associates; Christi Jones, CDC; Pam Kostle, State Hygienic Laboratory; Joelle Stolte, Polk County Health Department; and Megan Latshaw, Association of Public Health Laboratories. Pictured in the middle row are (from left) Pam Mollenhauer, State Hygienic Laboratory; Hector Ibarra, retired, U.S. Department of Education; Alyssa Matson, State Hygienic Laboratory; Rachel Greenberg, CDC fellow assigned to State Hygienic Laboratory; Jeneane Moody, Iowa Public Health Association; Shelli Grapp, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Wanda Reiter-Kintz, State Hygienic Laboratory; Mary Mincer-Hansen, Des Moines University; Sophia Walsh and Bran Hanft, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health. Pictured in the back row are (from left) Michael Wichman, State Hygienic Laboratory; Edward Bottei, Iowa Statewide Poison Control; James Lacina, Johnson County Public Health; Larry Linnenbrink, Scott County Environmental Health; Ken Sharp, Iowa Department of Public Health; Doug Beardsley, Johnson County Public Health; J. Michael Davis, U.S. EPA Region VII; Travis Knight, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship; Doug Schnoebelen, University of Iowa IIHR Hydroscience and Engineering; Don Simmons, State Hygienic Laboratory; and Steven Mandernach, Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.