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Notes from CHE-Penn Meeting - 5/26/05Available as a PDF Meeting Led bySteffi Domike Meeting Notes byLaurie Mann AttendingRobbie Ali, Myron Arnowitt, Linda Berkheiser, Alice Blazeck, Rachel Blair, Suzie Brindle, Fred Brown, Megan Cieslak, Danae Clark, Jeanne Clark, Devra Davis, Steffi Domike, Ellen Dorsey, Andrea Errington, Nicole Feczko, Rachel Filipinni, Fiona Fisher, Tom Fogarty, Ann Gerace, Laura Hewitson, Kathy Lawson, Joyce Lewis, Laurie Mann, Rachel Martin, JoAnn Meier, Sally Morton, Megan Moser, Maurice Randall, II, Viv Shaffer, John Stephen, Amy Stiffey, Dreama Van Cise, Dan Volz, Dave Weitner, Lisa Zinn. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Introductions Goal Review
Presentation of CHE-Penn Model and General DiscussionWe have a distribution of people, representing health, science, research, health-affected groups, environmental activists. These constituencies work on their own. CHE-Penn is to bring these groups together and support one another + keep an eye on the scientific research. We want to study environmental health. We want to facilitate interactions between these groups. We want to promote a scientifically-based environmental health movement. We need to have that credibility - that we're based on science. We have a national model, but now we want to find what we have here. We want to figure out who we are, and what we have here. We have three initial areas of work, but the list is not complete. Discussion should bring out others. I hope to see a series of public education events over the next year. (back of agenda) Basics of CHE-Penn: Good science and mutual respect. Tom Fogarty (Learning Disabilities)One piece - goal/cause - if you don't have a legislative link, you don't get anything done. Western PA is a hotbed of environmental health problems. What's the legislative link we could put in? Jeanne Clark (PennFuture)Collaboration does not necessarily do the lobbying. But organizations like PennFuture can. We have a heavy influence in Harrisburg. We're working on mercury - we have the ability to get policies changed. Kathy Lawson (Healthy Children Project)I just returned from Washington and talked to senatorial aides. We talked about the Toxic Substance Control Act & National Children's studies (NIH spearheaded, but it's not funded). LDA is working for change in these areas. Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)Think of CHE-Penn as Connective Tissue - help with the networking, help with the science, help disseminate. But it's the members of CHE-Penn who'd do the advocacy. Hopefully, we'd then see a wider constituency for these issues. CHE-Penn can help get the science out, help evaluate...maybe we will do advocacy, but we really want to bring the best of the science to the public. CHE National wants to create a big tent, a comfortable tent, and it's an experiment. Will we want CHE to coordinate the advocacy? Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)We don't want to scare people away by focusing on one piece of legislation. We want to see change. Amy Stiffey (Healthy Home Resources)I worked for Duquesne Light and wanted to work on EMF. Other people's work allowed me to approach this issue in a responsible way. We have to break down the us/then mentality - we have to let people in industry know that we can work with them. Myron Aronwitt (Clean Water Action)Another CHE-Penn role - more education about what's happening at the legislative level - how policy and science match/don't match. We have to help people get the tools. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)And we want to figure out what is good science. Dan Volz (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health)Interesting group to do basic community building, and designing locally-based community-based research projects, particularly with Mercury. Steffi DomikePresentation on Scientific Advisory Committee and General DiscussionThe CHE-Penn Scientific Advisory Committee is made up of scientists and medical professionals from a range of interest areas and specialties, to meet as needed. The role of the Scientific Advisory Committee is to:
Participation in the Scientific Advisor Committee offers these advantages to medical professionals and researchers:
We need to find a convener for this committee, someone whose work interfaces directly with the objectives of CHE but who isn't already over-committed Dan Volz (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health)I'd hope this committee would help do community-based research Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)Try to bring the physicians in. They're on the front lines, they're the first to see things like asthma. The conference was more of a success than you might realize - it got physicians interested. Robbie and I would like to set-up a CME training program for health professionals. We want to make sure the physicians know enough to ask the questions. Alice Blazeck (Professor of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh)In Mt. Lebanon, in two years I only got one physician to help talk about the pesticide problem. If you're not a physician, they won't listen to you Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)We have to realize it's a class system - physicians and school nurses are the front line Laura Hewitson (Magee)Physicians don't have time to read the mountain of research Fiona Fisher (Rachel Carson Homestead)Rachel Carson will be doing day care facility assessments. Pesticides were ranked the #2 problem by the Health Dept (after violence). Will share our data and get feedback. Kathy Lawson (Healthy Children Project)We're just starting here, and there's a whole network of physicians who have done work that we can call on, there are folks out there who can help us. Jeanne Clark (PennFuture)PennFuture & Heinz Endowment worked on the mercury test at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference last fall - we knew journalists would write about this. The lead researcher was Harvard, but we helped. We need to be aware of sample size issues. We need to learn how to do better sample size testing from scientists. Physician involvement - At the Venture Outdoor Festival last weekend a pediatrician, Scott, offered his help on mercury - he thinks mercury is involved in many cases he sees in his practice. Involved physicians will help bring their colleagues in. We need the ones who have a passion from seeing problems in their patients. Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)As this evolves, an outcome - we could conduct critical research in the community. We can help design in, and bring in a wider public constituency. CHE National helps promote solid scientific discussion, and advocacy. CHE-Penn can help connect to national dialogue and replicating them locally. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Don't forget to join CHE National - we don't want to duplicate them, Myron Arnowitt (Clean Water Action)Role of science committee - Having conduits between environmentalists and scientists - here's what we want to figure out, and use the scientists to help figure it out. Sally Morton (CHEC GSPH)There can be a scientific disconnect. People at some labs have literally never heard of the environment. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)Center for Environmental Oncology is working on just this. Robbie Ali (CHEC GSPH)Science does not take place outside of values or policy - it's just people who have an agenda, who may purport to be objective but often aren't. CHE-Penn is important in translating science and policy. There's also community-based research - where the investigative process itself becomes the education. We're not just looking for truths - we're looking at what's relevant to people in their lives. Don't just try to find doctors who are finding doctors who might be seeing more cases of environmental illnesses. Some doctors are interesting in finding simple, useful tools and resources. Sometimes, their interests are latent, but could be awakened. Steffi DomikePresentations About Primary Work Areas for CHE-PennLet's move onto the proposal for work areas -- Newsletter should help us build collaborative relationships Jo Ann Meier - Breast Cancer (Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)Environment is generally not listed as a risk factor for cancer. A number of people reported back to Komen after the conference that exciting things were happening in Pittsburgh. They've also been talking to the Rachel Carson Ctr. The Komen Web site has an E-champions mailing list that tracks any legislation about breast cancer. We plan to work with women in their communities to talk about environmental issues and breast cancer. In Indiana county, for example, we've arranged for another mammogram machine because women weren't getting mammograms as often as they should. We're working on community awareness events. What kind of information do community activists need? We're working on some target audiences. The Komen Race for the Cure raised $1.2 million this year. Ellen Dorsey - Healthy Hospitals (Heinz Endowments)Heinz Endowments has an environmental health component for years because we keep seeing more chronic illnesses that could be caused by environmental factors. We also need to work with a wider constituency. So we developed a new initiative, and we're talking about that here. But another whole piece of the initiative is the health sector. We believe we can help support a paradigm shift - the health care profession helping to prevent illness. It reaches a wide public audience and has many talented people. It's also an enormous consumer. If these capital expenditures are green, we can help create a wide market for green products and renewable products. Infuse environmental health into community (prenatal education, for example) Hospitals consume - hospitals outside the area are starting to think about environmental issues. The new Childrens Hospital will be the largest green hospital building in the country. How do we expand that beyond the building. I see CHE-Penn's role in helping to connect the teams at various hospitals - look at best practices, have forums, support public education, connecting the hospital to community research. Jeanne Clark - Mercury (PennFuture)We work with both carrots and sticks at PennFuture. We have lawsuits against several energy providers. We helped fight for the renewable portfolio standard in Pennsylvania. We're working with a coalition of various groups and presented to the state DEP that we want them to regulate mercury. It's hopeless on a national level, but it could work on the state. The state Environmental Quality Board voted on it. All Rendell appointees voted yes, all Republican appointees voted no. We could be the first coal-producing state to have mercury regulations. By June 28, we'll respond with what we think the rules should be. After a few months of writing rules, the EQB will need to vote on it. There's also Republican and coal association fight against new regulation. Sierra Club, PennEnvironment and other groups are getting people to send post cards to McGinty. We even have several union groups that have signed on. Kathy Lawson - Mercury (Healthy Children Project)An outgrowth of the Learning Disabilities research committee is the Healthy Children Project, to help educate the public about the dangers of environmental factors on brain development. We have affiliates in 40 states. We've taken on mercury as a national project. Local public interest groups have been keeping us informed on newspaper articles. Our federal lobbying targeted staff people of several senators with Laura Hewitson. It was successful and it crossed all boundaries. We need a more aggressive presence in Pittsburgh. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Some of us have also been working on the Campaign for Healthy Air Rachel Filipinni (GASP)Western Pennsylvania did not attain the federal guidelines for particulates. We bring together different groups to try to talk about air solutions. Air problems are caused by both stationary (plants) and mobile (cars) causes. We're having a conference on June 15 to further the discussion that we can present to local leaders. We want to make attainment by 2010 (or do even better!). Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Presentation on Educational Activities and General Discussion2005- 2006 - POSSIBLE Lecture topics / speakers / venue / co-sponsor(s) The Science of Environmental Health Lecture Series
Internal Education Series for Health Professionals
Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)The public educational series - designed to support initiatives of CHE-Penn partners, the health professional talk should be more cutting edge. Robbie Ali (CHEC GSPH)Actually, the talk to professionals needs to be pretty basic. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)There are still pediatricians who don't know that a lead level screening is too high. We need basic, environmental health concepts for OB/GYN, pediatricians. We also do need some cutting edge talks too, but we need the basics. Tom Fogarty (Learning Disabilities)It's not just the doctors, it's the consumers. It should be a double-bang for the buck. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)We can do double-duty, but there are things the doctors need to know that others don't. It's because of the breast cancer advocates that we're doing what we can. Did you know EPA announced a proposal to make lead paint standards voluntary? What are the biggest things we should be paying attention?? Or look at the fly ash problem - they've been around for 100 years - is it the worst problem in the state? We don't know. Dan, Robbie and I will make everything open. Joanne Meier - Breast Cancer (Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)Why not combine mercury cycle and environmental links to breast cancer? Amy Stiffey (Healthy Home Resources)I run into an extreme need to educate the physicians. When I took my child to get lead-tested, the physician would not test. We need to educate physicians. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)I did lead testing and found a child with 29! Today, the kid would be chelated. Robbie Ali (CHEC GSPH)We want to have a health fair at a school. The health department has no resources for lead testing. Amy Stiffey (Healthy Home Resources)We have Rand money for lead screening, but we don't have the people. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)The cost for fingerstick lead is not that much. Amy Stiffey (Healthy Home Resources)Children's Hospital does have a local testing van. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)We want to develop a mobile lab for testing all kinds of things. Back to the lecture series - we do need to package these things. We just got a new grant - we'll video these kinds of talks and will save them as streaming audio and video. And PowerPoint - we can make these things accessible to the community. And we should get other topics from the community. Joanne Meier (Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)There's going to be a women's resource center. It should have more environmental information. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)I have been working on editing the Herb Needleman talk from the conference. Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)It's important to make the information publicly accessible, but there's no substitute for bringing people together. We could bring together people in outlaying areas, watch these videos with them, and talk about organizing. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)It's important for people to look at things together and discuss them. Showing a video and having a discussion following really helps to bring the whole thing together. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology) Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)We're not going to resolve the professional education series here - what should we do? Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)I wanted to get people to respond to these lists. I'm working on mercury - could we do one or two lectures on mercury? Could we do something in mid-July? Maybe a forum on mercury and health. In terms of the breast cancer series, we want to involve Terry Collins from CMU to talk about breast cancer. Joanne Meier (Komen Breast Cancer Foundation)Breast cancer and asthma - I had no information that pollution can cause asthma. Every opportunity we have to put out information, we should. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Jeanne, how can we use the health writers? Jeanne Clark (PennFuture)We do want to do some stuff around the BassMaster - we thought about Welcome to Pittsburgh, but don't Eat the Fish -- anyway, who are our targets? Local people or visitors? Policy-makers? The local writers will be doing some special writing on bass fishing, and I hope to, along with scientists, to get some additional fish information. We also want to get some environmental health writing into the Post-Gazette. I'm also working with some investigative reporters at the TV stations. I'm looking at a combination of paid and free media. We need to have some serious talks about how to do this. Dan Volz (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health)You community are fishers. You could sample fish as they're caught, and test them for a battery of heavy metals. When scientists collect fish, the collect smaller fish - the risk estimates are different. Robbie Ali (CHEC GSPH)Steffi, how open are you to other areas? We're interested in the built environment and on improving nutrition. What if we want to work on a different issue? Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Absolutely. CHE-Penn needs a bigger umbrella, but we're limited. But the list does have to be longer. Myron Arnowitt (Clean Water Action)DEP does do some fish testing of mercury, but they don't test for other things. Structure issues - planning committee, so many ideas. Tom Fogarty (Learning Disabilities)Everyone has their own interests - mercury, nutritional - hit the general idea and bring the specifics down. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Visit the CHE national Web site - some of this information is available there. Kathy Lawson (Healthy Children Project)LDDI presents one message, but has different local phone numbers for people to reach us. Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology)Look at the environmental oncology Web site - why you don't want to wait before harm is proved. Mercury does not just cause harm to the nerves, it causes a host of other things. And arsenic. The message that's been perverted lately is we don't have human proof. Or passive smoke is not a health hazard. American Medical Writers annual meeting is here in September. I'll be speaking there. I may be debating Dr. Bruce Dixon. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Let's talk some about future planning. Laurie Mann (Contractor)I'd like to urge us to look at short-term vs. long term planning. We shouldn't put everything off until the fall. There are activities coming up this summer that we're going to need to have meetings about now. I'd like to suggest at least putting together some mailing lists to discuss planning for BassMaster and planning for the American Medical Writers. The following people want to participate in planning activities around BassMaster: Myron Arnowitt, Rachel Filipinni, Laurie Mann, Viv Shaffer, Jeanne Clark, Ann Gerace, Devra Davis, Maurice Randall, Dan Volz, Dave Weitner, Kathy Lawson, Robbie Ali, Fred Brown, Steffi Domike. The following people want to participate in planning activities around American Medical writers: Ellen Dorsey, Laurie Mann, Fiona Fisher, Jeanne Clark, Amy Stiffey, Fred Brown, Sally Morton, Dan Volz, Robbie Ali, Kathy Lawson, Joanne Meier, Alice Blazeck. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Meetings - quarterly meetings - that seems to work, to do this kind of brainstorming. Maurice Randall (CPT UPMC)Neighborhood or community representatives could come to this meeting? Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)Some of the groups here do community organizing. Maurice Randall (CPT UPMC)Most community centers have parent group meetings once a month. We should hook into these groups. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)We want to meet groups on their turf. We'll try to organize an online meeting for June Fred Brown (Pittsburgh Transportation Equity Project/Environmental Trust)Can we make a short video that would succinctly state our issues? Devra Davis (UPMC Center for Environmental Oncology) You can do them cheap - virtual interview cost $3,000. Kathy Lawson (Healthy Children Project)Our video cost $20,000 to make, and costs $10 to buy. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)We want to figure out what videos we have access to - maybe we can set-up a library and see what holes are out there. Ellen Dorsey (Heinz Endowments)Maybe we need a public education committee. I think we could use some cross-cutting materials. Who listens to Nature Watch? We're working on a one-minute environmental health audio, just like Nature Watch. Steffi Domike (CHE-Penn)We have to be careful with media. We have to use new and old media. Not everyone is Web-savvy, but we have to know how to get it out beyond the Web. Public Education Committee VolunteersAlice Blazeck, Ellen Dorsey, Rachel Filipinni, Danae Clark, John Stephen, Laurie Mann, Viv Shaffer, Amy Stiffey, Fred Brown, Rachel Blair, Tom Fogarty, Joyce Meier, Maurice Randall, Linda Berkheiser. Health Professional Lecture Committee VolunteersSteffi Domike, Dan Volz, Alice Blazeck, Sally Morton, Dreama Van Cise, Jo Ann Meier, Karen Singleton, Robbie Ali, Laura Hewitson |