ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENT
As the Section representative to the APHA Action Board, I have a short update concerning recent activities and advocacy.
The Action Board is the advocacy component of APHA. Our purpose is to educate and inform our members of important (and pending) issues which impact environmental health.
The Action Board has spearheaded three priority areas. They are:
- Strategic Plans/Reorganize – with a streamlining of the Board, a more efficient system has been put into place for operations and ethicacy. A Strategic Map is in place for 2007 to enhance committee outcomes.
- Federal Budget/Environment – our recent alerts to the membership have been highly effective with Congress supporting increased funding for environmental health programs at the Federal level. We greatly appreciate your action when we send you those special alerts.
- E-Community – a new service has arrived! The final touches are being made and APHA will be rolling out this program in the next few months. Every APHA member will have access to this electronic forum, and it will greatly (and easily) enhance the method we use to contact our legislators in Congress. Signing up is easy, and more information will follow soon.
Submitted by Leon F. Vinci, DHA, director of public health, Johnson County Health Department