Find your location

Prescriptions for Prevention

Posted on 02/07/2019 by NYS Check

Our environmental pediatricians, together with partners, created “Prescriptions for Prevention” that provide information on how New York families can address common environmental health concerns such as lead, secondhand smoke, mold, and radon.

The front of each prescription explains simple steps for reducing the exposure. The back of each prescription lists key resources that families can use to help address the concern. For additional information on the concern, we have posted links to key informational websites below the link to each prescription.

Please download, print, and share the prescriptions found below! If you would like to download the entire prescription series, click here.

Las versiones en Español vendrán pronto…

Smoking and Tobacco Use:

If you need help quitting, contact the NY State Quit Line (1-866-NY-QUITS)or the CDC Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW)

Information for parents about e-cigarettes

Information for parents about juuling

Secondhand Smoke:

NY Tenants Guide on how to minimize your smoke exposure

Learn more about how you can protect your child from secondhand smoke

Learn more about the dangers of secondhand smoke

NYC Smoke Free Housing guide

Lead-Based Paint:

Live in New York City? Click here for a prescription with local NYC information about how to deal with lead paint!

If you have a concern for lead hazards in your home, contact your designated NY Lead Resource Center

American Academy of Pediatrics “Steps to protect your family” from lead exposure

For more information about how to identify lead hazards

Know your rights concerning lead hazards before moving into a new home

Mold:

Information on mold in homes and schools for parents from environmental pediatricians

Mold information from the EPA

Tips for dealing with mold from the NY Department of Health

Mold infographic: tips for preventing mold in your home

Information on mold in homes and schools for parents from environmental pediatricians

Pests and Pesticides:

National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC): Free hotline and information center on safer pest control in your home

What’s bugging you? Tips on how to deal with pests

Strategies for reducing pesticide exposure from the NY Department of Health

Infographic about asthma, pests, and pesticides – simple steps for your home

Radon:

National Radon Hotline: 1-800-SOS-RADON (1-800-767-7236)

National Radon Hotline En Español: 1 (866) 528-3187

To order a radon test kit in NY

To learn more about the health risks of radon from the CDC

Eat Fish, Choose Wisely!

Advice About what Fish to Eat in English

Consejos Sobre el Consumo de Pescado en Español

Fishing in NY waters? Check out NY state fish advisories before eating your catch

Find your local fish advisory (for United States)

Well Water:

How to test your well in New York

How to restore and maintain your well in New York

Information from the EPA on testing your private well

Sun Safety:

Information from the American Academy of Pediatrics about how to protect your child from the sun

Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Sunscreens

CDC Basic Information about Skin Cancer

Teen Tanning:

American Academy of Pediatrics- Tanning and Tanning Salon Tips for Young People

CDC Information on Indoor Tanning

Did you know? In NY, no one under the age of 18 is permitted to use a tanning bed. For more information about tanning bed risks in New York

Noise:

American Academy of Pediatrics-Tips to protect your child’s hearing

Hearing Loss- When to Call the Pediatrician

Reducing exposures to environmental hazards from your job or hobby:

Tips to reduce your exposure to chemicals at home, work, and play

More information about potential hazards at work and pregnancy

Work Matters- How to reduce your exposures

Health and Safety Information from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

Do you work with pesticides? Here is information about how to reduce your risk of exposure at work and home

Teen workers:

To learn about the labor laws and safety regulations that protect young people in the workforce visit YouthRules!

Nature and Play:

Live in New York City? Click here for a prescription with local NYC information about parks and libraries!

Find a NYC Park and Kid-friendly activities

Find a NY State Park

Find a national park

Rainy day? Check out free library events at New York Public Library (in NYC) or find a public library near you

Prescriptions for Prevention were last updated in November 2018

Featured Partner: Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, Inc. (HBCAC)

Posted on 12/10/2018 by NYS Check — No Comments ↓

Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, Inc. (HBCAC) is the lead community partner for the New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers. HBCAC has been involved with the Centers since their inception in 2004, and has been in existence since 1993. HBCAC’s mission is to focus on environmental health education for children and families through our Prevention Is The Cure™ campaign. We have created, sponsored and collaborated on efforts to develop and disseminate science-based, age-appropriate educational materials in various formats to diverse populations. Through our efforts, we connect with various stakeholders across Long Island to become engaged in encouraging healthy lifestyles. Additionally, we work to make legislative change, for example in securing “Toxin Free Toddlers and Babies Act” making Suffolk County the first in the nation to ban the sales of baby bottles and sippy cups containing Bisphenol A (BPA), and in passing the Safer Sales Slip Act banning Bisphenol A (BPA) from thermal receipt papers.

Program updates:

Students & Scientists Program

Resources:

Building New York State Centers of Excellence in Children’s Environmental Health: A Replicable Model in a Time of Uncertainty

Posted on 12/03/2018 by NYS Check — No Comments ↓

An article was just published by NYSCECEH via the Network by the American Public Health Association.

Abstract:

Public health programs may be seriously affected in periods of federal retrenchment. During these times, state-based strategies provide an alternate pathway for advancing public health.

A 12-year campaign to secure state support for a network of Centers of Excellence in Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) promoting health of children across New York State is described. It was driven by rising rates of asthma, birth defects, developmental disorders, and other noncommunicable diseases in children; growing evidence associating hazardous environmental exposures with these conditions; and recognition that federal resources in CEH are insufficient.

Critical campaign elements were (1) formation of a statewide coalition of academic health centers, health care providers, public health officials, community advocates, and other stakeholders; (2) bipartisan collaborations with legislative champions and government leaders; (3) assessment of the burden of developmental disorders and noncommunicable diseases associated with environmental exposures among children; (4) maps documenting the presence of environmental hazards in every county statewide; (5) iterative charting of a changing political landscape; and (6) persistence. The 2017 award of a 5-year, $10 million contract to establish Centers of Excellence in CEH demonstrates the value of this statewide strategy. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print November 29, 2018: e1–e5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304742)

Featured Profile: Dr. Melinda Cameron

Posted on 11/27/2018 by NYS Check — No Comments ↓

Profile of Dr. Cameron:

Dr. Cameron is a general pediatrician and has treated and provided case management for children with elevated lead levels in the Western New York region for over 30 years. She is the Medical Director of the WNY Lead Poisoning Prevention Center, Buffalo Office and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine in Buffalo. Her interests include public and refugee health, outpatient urban pediatric care at a FQHC, community based care including Medical Directorship of Buffalo’s school-based health clinics and clinical preceptorship of medical students.

Huntington High School Seniors Present at National Conference

Posted on 11/20/2018 by NYS Check — No Comments ↓

Sara Frawley and Sam Roberts are two of the top teenagers in the country. The Huntington High School duo impresses everyone they cross paths with, especially the medical professionals who have helped guide them through high level research. The pair presented their work last week at the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program’s two day conference in Washington, DC.

Veterans of the high school’s science research program, Ms. Frawley and Mr. Roberts have been interning with the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, which arranged an opportunity for them to complete research in Dr. Jia Chen’s lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

“They were all extremely welcoming and wonderful to learn from,” said Ms. Frawley about the lab experience at Mount Sinai. “Our research focused on the effects of glyphosate based herbicides, which are commonly used throughout the United States on gene expression and also accessing knowledge and concern over pesticide use in Suffolk and across Long Island. We found that there are possibly harmful effects of this common herbicide and that there is also a need for further education in our community.”

Full Article…

Internship Testimonial: Keven Cabrera, MD Student

Posted on 11/08/2018 by Michael Ejiogu — No Comments ↓

Keven Cabrera is a 4^th year medical resident at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “I completed a month long elective with NYSCEHC and the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Mount Sinai and it exceeded my expectations. Earlier in my schooling I had decided I wanted to combine my passion for environmental sciences with my passion for medicine and was able to find the amazing faculty at Mount Sinai to help me figure out how. Beyond learning about how intricately our environment, both built and natural, intertwines with children’s health, I learned about how to formulate healthcare messages in an effective way, how to work within government to enact change, and how to work alongside communities to protect children’s health. From local public health projects to providing expert recommendations to NYC Council and attending EPA meetings, everyone I met was excited to get me involved and, most importantly, to teach me applicable knowledge and skills for my future career. The elective was something I had planned on participating in prior to medical school, after I met a few of the physicians at a local meeting, and I am so glad I had the opportunity. I know that I will use everything I learned regardless of the path I take in medicine and that I have made life long connections to help me along the way.”

NYS Children’s Environmental Health Day – 2 Minute Overview

Posted on 11/07/2018 by Vanessa Chicas — No Comments ↓

NYS celebrates its first Children’s Environmental Health Day.

Children’s Environmental Health Day & Launch of the NYS Children’s Environmental Health Centers

Posted on 10/26/2018 by Michael Ejiogu — No Comments ↓

Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaimed October 11 the first Children’s Environmental Health Day in New York State. The day was a great opportunity to announce the launch of the newly established statewide network for children’s environmental health. The network will train and support health care professionals to address environmental health issues and provide clinical pediatric health services to families. Sites are located across the state, including in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, and Westchester. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City serves as the coordinating center. During the CEH Day award ceremony, NYSCEHC honored Mark Maddaloni (EPA-Retired), Peggy Shepard & Cecil Corbin-Mark (WEACT for Environmental Justice), Kathy Curtis & Bobbi Wilding (Clean and Healthy NY, and Nanci Pavlisko (Parent Champion) on the first official CEH Day in NY State! Mount Sinai participated in activities led by Children’s Environmental Health Network to celebrate CEH Day. https://twitter.com/NYSCEHC/status/1050465888363827201

Hudson Valley – Not One More Life Event

Posted on 10/15/2018 by NYS Check — No Comments ↓

CEHCHV hosted an exciting event this weekend, our annual Not One More Life Event (NOML) that took place at First United Methodist Church in Mt. Vernon, NY. The event is an educational program formed from a partnership with an Atlanta-based non-for-profit with the goal of mitigating the impact of asthma and adverse respiratory conditions related to the environment on the health of minorities.

On Sunday, October 7, 2018 our group provided education to a local faith-based organization and conducted educational workshops and clinical screening for asthma and co-morbid conditions. We had a great turn out.