December 2019 Direct From CDC/Environmental Health Services

Direct From CDC/Environmental Health Services Column

December 2019 Journal of Environmental Health (Volume 82, Number 5)

Editor's Note: NEHA strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal.

In these columns, authors from CDC's Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share insights and information about environmental health programs, trends, issues, and resources. The conclusions of these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC.

Environmental Health Shelter Assessments: Using Tools to Protect Occupants After Disasters

Kelsey McDavid, MPH, National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Miguel Cruz, MPH, PhD National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Description

Every year, disasters affect jurisdictions across the U.S. and its territories. These disasters, whether natural or human-made, often result in displaced people—either ahead of the event to protect people or following the event because of damage and destruction to homes. Many of these displaced individuals will be housed in a disaster shelter. Public health environmental health teams have a key role in protecting the health of people in shelters. Meeting the basic human needs of people for safe shelter, food, water, and space are high priorities for any disaster response and recovery operation.

Environmental health teams need simple tools that are easy to implement across various disaster types to evaluate and document potential health threats in shelters. This month's column highlights the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated Shelter Assessment Tool and how it and other resources can be used to assist environmental health professionals in ensuring that disaster shelter facilities remain safe, clean, and monitored for potential environmental hazards.

Read the December 2019 JEH Direct From CDC/EHS Column in Full

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SHELTER ASSESSMENTS: USING TOOLS TO PROTECT OCCUPANTS AFTER DISASTERS (PDF)