Morning Keynote Address:

Climate Change and Human Health: Role of the Public Health Community [download]
A. Karim Ahmed, PhD [bio]
Director, International Program, National Council for Science and the Environment

1. Understand the nature of climate change and global warming in the context of human communities and natural ecosystems - where is the "tipping point"?
2. Examine societal means to mitigate and adapt to climate change
3. Assess the potential impacts of climate change on human health
4. Explore the role of the public health community in addressing the adverse impacts of climate change

Breakout Session 1:

Climate Change and Connecticut

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the history of climate changes in CT and its impact on the Long island Sound
2. List three implications of the impact of global warming on local public health
3. Explain how global warming is part of Wallingford’s High School Curriculum (also a part of the Connecticut State Department of Education High School Science Standards)

A Brief History of Connecticut's Climate and its Impact on Long Island Sound [download]
Chris Cryder, MHSA [bio]
Director of Restoration and Stewardship, Save the Sound

Innovative Public Health Applications of GIS

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how GIS has been used in the New Britain Health Education Lead Poisoning (H.E.L.P.) Program
2. Describe how the City of Hartford’s High Tech Lead Tracking project used GIS to protect Hartford’s children from the hazards of lead poisoning by identifying the areas of highest risk in the City
3. Recognize how disease often has a spatial dimension and how GIS Science (GISc) provides tools for visualizing and analyzing these spatial dimensions

New Britain Health Education Lead Poisoning (HELP) Awareness and Prevention Initiative [download]
Thomas Menditto, MS [bio]
District Coordinator of Science, Technology and Applied Education, Consolidated School District of New Britain

Innovative Public Health Applications of GIScience [download]
Jeffrey P. Osleeb, PhD [bio]
Professor and Head of the Department of Geography University of Connecticut

Lead Poisoning Risk in the City of Hartford: A GIS Analysis [download]
Katie Perham [bio]
Project Consultant, Department of Health and Human Services, City of Hartford

Guiding Youth along the Public Health Career Pathway

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe a comprehensive internship program "package" that can be easily duplicated at health departments statewide
2. Define the issues, goals and objectives of corporate responsibility
3. Articulate the role of corporate responsibility in education advocacy and mentoring  for future workforce development
4. Describe how to create an environment for employee volunteerism as an integral part of the community partnering and mentoring
5. Discuss marketing strategies to recruit and retain students in health and bioscience careers

Harry A. Watson Public Health Internship Program [download]
Cindy Barry, MA [bio]
Community Relations Supervisor, Ledge Light Health District
Danielle LaFleur [bio]
Intern, Ledge Light Health District

Raising the Pulse: Increasing the Pipeline of Public Health Professionals [download]
Mary deManbey [bio]
Program Manager, Connecticut Business and Industry Association

Engaging our future workforce [download]
Sheenah M. Mische, PhD [bio]
Director of Translational Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Luncheon Keynote:

Protecting the Vulnerable: Public Health Leadership and Climate Change
Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN [bio]
Immediate Past President, American Public Health Association
Associate Professor of Surgery (Emergency Medicine) and Public Health and Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing,Yale University
Center Director / Co-Principal Investigator, Yale Center for Public Health Preparedness

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize how climate change may disproportionately impact the health and well being of disadvantaged populations
2. Articulate the importance of leadership by the public health community in addressing the negative health impacts of climate change on disadvantaged populations

Breakout Session 2:

Universal Health Care in Massachusetts: New Opportunities for Public Health
Learning Objectives:

1. Identify components of a statewide health care reform plan
2. Understand the MA experience in adopting and implementing health care reform
3. Discuss lessons learned from MA experience relative to efforts in CT and other states

Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: The Role of Public Health [download]
John M. Auerbach, MBA [bio]
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Health Reform in Massachusetts [download]
Nancy Turnbull, MBA [bio]
Associate Dean for Educational Programs, Harvard School of Public Health

The Global Village of Public Health: An Intersection of International Health and Public Health Agencies

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify three key factors of globalization that foster the transmission of infectious diseases across international borders and to communities across continents
2. List significant emerging, re-emerging, naturally occurring, or intentionally spread infectious diseases; and describe how they affect the health of local populations in Connecticut
3. Describe how current local and state public health preparedness plans, infrastructure, and collaborations prepare the state and local communities to respond to infectious disease challenges posed by globalization
4. List three gaps in the current ability of state and local health departments to respond to globalized diseases, and describe how these gaps may be addressed

The 2003 Toronto SARS Experience: The Hospital View [download]
Louise M. Dembry, MD, MS, MBA [bio]
Associate Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, Yale University School of Medicine

The Global Village of Public Health Intersection of International Health and Public Health Agencies [download]
James Hadler, MD, MPH [bio]
Connecticut State Epidemiologist, Emeritus

Global Village of Public Health: NYC Perspectives on Imported Disease Issues and Challenges [download]
Marcelle Layton, MD [bio]
Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Communicable Diseases, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The Health Equity Index and Environmental Justice

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the role local public health agencies can have in addressing broader social change
2. Describe how the Health Equity Index can be used as a tool to coordinate fragmented community agendas and serve as a platform for intense civic dialogue to advance constructive coordination of efforts to improve health outcomes
3. Discuss the critical importance and value of public/private partnerships in advancing primary prevention efforts
4. Recognize the connection between social determinants of health, health equity, and environmental justice

The CADH Health Equity Index© Eliminating Health Disparities Through Primary Prevention [download]
Baker Salsbury, MPH, MSW, MHSA [bio]
Director of Health, Ledge Light Health District

Breakout Session 3:

Stumbling Towards Perfection: When Good Environmental Ideas Go Bad

Learning Objectives:

1. Appreciate the complexities of environmental interventions and the potential for unintended outcomes
2. Identify screening approaches for hazardous substances to reduce the potential for unintended consequences

Toxics Use Reduction: Almost 20 Years of Solutions [download]
Pam Eliason, MS [bio]
Manager, Sustainability Research Fellows, Cleaner Technology Demonstration Site and Industry Matching Grant programs, Toxics Use Reduction Institute

Stumbling Toward Perfection: When Good Environmental Ideas Go Bad [download]
Dr. Gary Ginsberg, PhD [bio]
Talk Show Host of "Greener Living with Dr. G," co-author of  "What's Toxic, What's Not,” Senior Toxicologist, Connecticut Department of Public Health

“Going Green” GS-37 Chemical Cleaning Standard [download]
Nancy J. Simcox, MS [bio]
Industrial Hygienist, Center for Indoor Environments and Health, University of Connecticut Health Center

The Increasing Role of Cultural Competency in Quality Health Care and Access

Learning Objectives:

1. Define health literacy and the importance of cultural competency in quality health care, access to health care and health care outcome
2. Identify current best practices in the private sector that are aimed at improving health literacy in the care provided to patients both in the clinical setting and comprehensively
3. Identify current best practices that are established at the state and federal level that are aimed at improving the cultural competencies of practitioners and patient communication materials

Health Literacy as a Keystone to Cultural Competency [download]
Nancy Berger, MPH [bio]
Director, Office of Multicultural Health, Connecticut Department of Public Health

The Increasing Role of Cultural Competency in Quality Health Care and Access [download]
Rose Stamilio, MSN, BSN [bio]
Director of Medical Management, Saint Francis Physician Hospital Organization