| CalAsthma Update - December 07, 2007 |
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GENERAL
1) Funding Opportunity: EPA Environmental Education Grants
2) Event: CHE Asthma Call on Diesel, December 10th
3) Event: CDC Asthma Teleconference, December 11th
4) Event: On-line CME on Indoor Asthma Triggers, December 12th
5) Award Opportunity: EPA National Environmental Leadership Award and Webcast
6) Event: PolicyLink Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice and Smart Growth in New Orleans, March 5th
7) Resource: Physician Asthma Care Education web pages launched on NHLBI’s website
8) Resource: Integrated Pest Management in Affordable Housing on NCHH website
9) Study: Childhood Asthma and Secondhand Smoke Exposure
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
10) Funding Opportunity: SF Department of the Environment grant solicitation
11) Save the Date: Pediatric Asthma Forum in Oakland, March 13th
12) Job Announcement: Healthy Homes Community Specialist for Alameda County
13) Job Announcements: RAMP seeks Health Educators and Program Administrator
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GENERAL
1) Funding Opportunity: EPA Environmental Education Grants
The EPA is currently soliciting grant proposals to support environmental education projects that promote environmental stewardship and help develop responsible students, teachers, and citizens. This grant program provides financial support to seed innovative project that design demonstrate, or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. The EPA issues Environmental Education Grants from headquarters and from ten EPA regional offices. Grants for $50,000 or less are funded by the ten EPA regional offices and larger grants are funded by headquarters. Regional offices usually fund between 8 and 12 grants per Region in the range of $12,000 to $20,000. Headquarters anticipates awarding between 3 and 8 grants as funding permits. The deadline for proposals is December 20th. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html.
2) Event: CHE Asthma Call on Diesel, December 10th
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) is hosting a discussion on the topic of diesel and the impacts on our health. The call will take place on December 10th at 10 a.m. (Pacific Time). The first half of the call will consist of a moderated conversation and the second half of the call will be an open question and answer session with the panelists. The panelists include: Dr. Donald Lucas, Staff Scientist, Environmental Energy Technologies Division of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Celeste Monforton, MPH, Research Associate, George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services, and Dr. Gina Solomon, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council. To RSVP for this call, please e-mail Julia Varshavsky at Julia@HealthandEnvironment.org.
3) Event: CDC Asthma Teleconference, December 11th
There is a CDC asthma teleconference scheduled for December 11th from 12pm until 1:30pm Pacific Time. The call will feature Tracy Carver, MPA and the presentation title is “Pediatric Asthma Disparities Project: Addressing Asthma Disparities among Low Income Children in Oregon”. Ms. Carver is the Community Partnerships and Self-Management Coordinator for the Oregon Asthma Program in the Oregon Public Health Division. She is responsible for improving the coordination of asthma care initiatives relating to asthma disparities, asthma self-management, and community systems that support people with asthma where they live, work, go to school, and play. The presentation for the call can be downloaded at http://www.betterasthmacare.org/file_search.cfm?Category=7&search=yes. Call in information is 888-381-9691, passcode: asthma, leader: Marcia Griffith (mag9@cdc.gov).
4) Event: On-line CME on Indoor Asthma Triggers, December 12th
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is hosting a free on-line CME training on “Realistic Measures for Reduction of Indoor Asthma Triggers”. The training will take place on December 12th from 10 – 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) and 1.5 CME credits are available. By the end of the session participants will have an increased understanding of the care model as it relates to asthma trigger reduction, recognize specific issues in providing asthma education to medically underserved populations, learn ways to promote effective asthma education in the clinical setting, and be aware of advocacy roles of clinicians for safe housing. To register, visit http://www.vodium.com/goto/acu/conference.asp.
5) Award Opportunity: EPA National Environmental Leadership Award and Webcast
The EPA’s National Environmental Leadership Award is presented to health plans and providers with exemplary asthma management programs that have shown exceptional leadership in improving asthma through the management of environmental asthma triggers. Recipients of the National Environmental Leadership Award are selected through a highly competitive process and are judged on established criteria. Winners are honored at EPA’s Communities in Action for Asthma-Friendly Environments National Asthma Forum and these programs’ achievements will be highlighted throughout the year. The deadline for submitting an application for the Award is February 1, 2008. To learn more about the award and apply visit http://www.asthmaawards.info.
The EPA is also hosting a Webcast on December 18th at 2pm (Eastern Time) to provide more information about the award, learn about the requirements, application process, and timeline. Speak with EPA about your program and get clarification about applying for the award. To register for the Webcast, visit https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/194298083. For technical assistance in registering for the Webcast call 800-263-6317 or gotowebinar@citrixonline.com.
6) Event: PolicyLink Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice and Smart Growth in New Orleans, March 5th
PolicyLink is convening Regional Equity '08: The Third National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice, and Smart Growth on March 5-7, 2008, in New Orleans. Join more than 1,500 participants from a diverse mix of leaders and advocates for: issue-based sessions, forums for crating a regional equity movement, skills-building trainings, and a local service day. More than 45 workshops will address issues such as creating affordable housing, ending poverty, advocating effectively, and using technology for policy change. For more details, visit http://www.regionalequity08.org. Early bird registration is $199, but the price goes up to $265 after Monday, Dec. 17th, and space is limited. Registration covers access and materials for workshop sessions, plenaries, and activities, as well as breakfast and lunch for the two core days of the summit, and an evening reception.
7) Resource: Physician Asthma Care Education web pages launched on NHLBI’s website
Allies Against Asthma at the Center for Managing Chronic Disease (CMCD) of the University of Michigan, in partnership with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, has launched the Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) web pages on NHLBI's website. The PACE program is a two-part interactive, multi-media educational seminar for primary care physicians to improve physician awareness, ability, and use of communication and therapeutic techniques for reducing the effects of asthma on children and their families. The website includes all PACE materials needed to conduct a seminar, including a series of videos to train seminar facilitators, a contact list of master trainers, and updated curriculum materials that reflect the Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma that was released August 2007 by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), coordinated by the NHLBI. For more information on the PACE program and to access materials visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/pace/index.htm.
8) Resource: Integrated Pest Management in Affordable Housing on NCHH website
The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) has revised their website to integrate more fully the materials related to Integrated Pest Management in Affordable Housing. Additions to the website also include a model request for IPM-based pest control services for public housing authorities and private sector housing property managers. For more information and the latest on pest control in affordable housing, visit http://www.healthyhomestraining.org/ipm/.
9) Study: Childhood Asthma and Secondhand Smoke Exposure
In a study published in the October edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers conducted an analysis of 38 studies published between 1970 and 2005 to try and uncover consistent patterns of the association between household secondhand tobacco smoke exposure and development of childhood asthma. After adjusting for confounding characteristics, the data showed consistent patterns of association between secondhand smoke exposure and childhood asthma development. The relationship is even more apparent among older children than younger children. This new finding indicates that exposure duration may be a more important factor in the development of asthma than previously understood, and suggests that secondhand smoke exposure could be a more fundamental and widespread cause of childhood asthma than some previous analyses have indicated. To view the study, visit http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/10155/10155.pdf
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
10) Funding Opportunity: SF Department of the Environment grant solicitation
The San Francisco Department of the Environment has released a grant solicitation announcement to provide grants to non-profit organizations in three areas. This solicitation is for two years (2007 to 2009). The three areas of funds are Environmental Justice, Zero Waste, and Used Motor Oil Recycling. The pre-application conference will take place on December 11th at 2pm at 11 Grove Street in San Francisco and the deadline to submit applications is January 18th. For more information, visit http://www.sfenvironment.org/downloads/library/t20072009grantsolicitation.doc.
11) Save the Date: Pediatric Asthma Forum in Oakland, March 13th
The 2008 Pediatric Asthma Forum, presented by Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, in partnership with the Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) Initiative, will take place on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at the Oakland Airport Hilton. This day long event will focus on the revised NHLBI Asthma Guidelines and other components of asthma control and is intended for asthma providers and educators working in hospital, clinic, school, or home settings. Forum highlights include sessions on the revised NHLBI guidelines, an asthma treatment update, asthma disparities, accessing community based resources, and environmental asthma triggers. The Forum will also include hands-on demonstrations with asthma devices and asthma medication question and answer sessions. Registration materials will be available soon. For more information contact Christine Schudel at 510-428-3885 ext. 4018 or via e-mail at cschudel@mail.cho.org.
12) Job Announcement: Healthy Homes Community Specialist for Alameda County
The Prescott-Joseph for Community Enhancement is seeking a full-time Healthy Homes Community Specialist to serve as part of the Healthy Homes Demonstration Project. This position will be responsible for the performance of duties and activities to implement educational and housing interventions in Alameda County. Activities include providing in home health education to families, conducting visual assessments of housing units, following up with clients, informing clients of community services and making referrals, and performing community outreach. Applicants must be bilingual in Spanish and English and have 2 years of college (BA degree preferred). To apply send a cover letter and resume to jobs@prescottjoseph.org.
13) Job Announcements: RAMP seeks Health Educators and Program Administrator
RAMP recently received a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control to serve as a Center for Excellence in Eliminating Disparities (CEED) in asthma under the auspices of REACH-US. Using a social-ecological approach, the goal is to develop and broadly disseminate a coordinated and comprehensive model of asthma management and prevention in order to eliminate asthma disparities among African Americans and Latinos. As a CEED, RAMP will: build upon its existing roles and strengthen its comprehensive approach to addressing asthma, which currently includes work in clinical, school, and outdoor settings; expand its scope to include child care settings, homes, and additional elements in the built environment; and formalize its community and stakeholder participatory process, program management, and multi-level intervention approaches with specific focus on partnerships with African American and Latino communities and eliminating asthma disparities.
In order to implement RAMP's growing scope of work, RAMP seeks to hire for three different positions. Detailed descriptions of the three positions can be found at the links below:
· Health Educator IV (focusing on regional advocacy and technical assistance) — http://www.phi.org/about-employment-details.cfm?id=1101
The full-time Health Educator IV manages some of RAMP’s regional advocacy efforts and its technical assistance activities. With the regional advocacy, the incumbent will lead some of RAMP’s collaborative regional advocacy activities, such as addressing asthma in schools or child care settings or addressing the connection between asthma and the built environment, housing, and/or diesel pollution. With the technical assistance (TA) activities, the incumbent will provide an array of TA to community asthma coalitions across the Bay Area.
· Health Educator IV (focusing on state and regional policy and advocacy) — http://www.phi.org/about-employment-details.cfm?id=1102
The full-time Health Educator IV manages RAMP’s activities related to state policy work and to regional advocacy efforts. With the regional advocacy efforts, the incumbent will lead some of RAMP’s collaborative regional advocacy activities, such as addressing asthma in schools or child care settings or addressing the connection between asthma and the built environment, housing, and/or diesel pollution. With the state policy work, the incumbent will lead a statewide network of community-based asthma coalitions through a process to identify policy priorities and then advocate for them, in collaboration with key partners.
· Program Administrator II—http://www.phi.org/about-employment-details.cfm?id=1100
In partnership with RAMP’s Associate Director, the part-time Program Administrator II is responsible for administrative and financial planning and organizing in support of the program.
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