12/20/11

Webinar series: Improving Children’s Health through Federal Collaboration

2nd Thursday of every month from 2PM to 3:30PM MST

image of a child smiling
On this page:
The Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, Region VIII, have organized, in collaboration with other Federal partners, a one-year-long webinar series titled Improving Children’s Health through Federal Collaboration. Children, by their very nature, deserve our focused attention and care especially because:
  • Their bodily systems are still developing
  • They eat more, drink more, and breathe more in proportion to their body size
  • Their behavior patterns increase their exposure to environmental hazards.
image of a child smiling
Protecting the health of children where they live, learn and play is fundamental to making the world a better place for future generations. The purpose of this webinar series is to encourage coordination, collaboration and information sharing across government agencies and organizations, health care providers, educators, and the general public in addressing children’s health issues.
Please save these dates and join us for the following FREE webinars. Also find descriptions about each webinar below.


image of a child smiling

Descriptions of each webinar

November 10 – Children Grow Best in Healthy Environments
In celebration of Children’s Health Month, this first session will present an overview of children's special vulnerabilities to environmental exposures; prenatal developmental windows of susceptibility; common children's environmental hazards such as air quality, asthma triggers, lead, asbestos and pesticide exposure; and, resources to help you protect children from these exposures.
December 8 – Pediatric Environmental Health Resources for Community Health Professionals
This session will discuss resources and strategies for assisting primary care providers and other community health workers in addressing common pediatric environmental health issues. Topics will include taking an environmental exposure history; pediatric environmental health case studies; and how to access free medical consultation and training through the Rocky Mountain Region Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit.
January 12 – Coordinated School Health: Clean, Green and Healthy Schools
School health programs are often a result of a “patchwork” of policies and programs with differing standards, requirements, and populations to be served. In addition, these programs are managed by professionals from multiple disciplines: education, nursing, social work, psychology, nutrition, and school administration, each bringing different expertise, training, and approaches. This session will explore how Federal, State and local agencies are working together to coordinate the various aspects of school health in order to eliminate gaps, reduce duplication of efforts, and leverage limited resources.
February 9 – Obesity Prevention
Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. This session will highlight Let’s Move!, the First Lady’s initiative dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation as well as HRSA’s Healthy Weight Collaborative, and how states are working to impact childhood obesity through their Title V Block Grants.
March 8 – Affordable Care Act
This Session will include an overview of the new health reform law, the Affordable Care Act, and highlight those sections of the law that are especially helpful for children and families. The Affordable Care Act Increases access to necessary preventative services to help keep children and families healthy. This session will describe the new protections for health insurance consumers, and provisions to lower costs and improve care.

April 12 – Communities Working Together for Better Health
This session will highlight projects where communities are working collaboratively with local, state and federal stakeholders to create healthier environments where children can live, learn and play. These community-based projects and programs focus on geographically, politically, demographically, and/or socially defined areas. Learn about resources available for project assistance, funding, outreach, training, education, and capacity-building.
May 10 – Successful Asthma Management
May is Asthma Awareness Month! Asthma affects almost 25 million people of all ages and races. Despite this prevalence, public awareness of common asthma triggers and effective asthma management strategies remains limited. Join us to learn the latest in successful asthma management including identifying warning signs of an attack, avoiding triggers, asthma clinical guidelines and successful intervention strategies.
June 14 – Healthy Homes
This session will highlight how Federal agencies are working in a coordinated fashion to address multiple housing-related hazards and childhood diseases. The Presentation will also include tools and resources available for communities to create neighborhoods and outdoor spaces that promote public health and encourage healthy lifestyles for all ages.
July – No Webinar This Month
August 9 – Children’s Environmental Health Research
The Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research ("Children's Centers") were established to explore ways to reduce children's health risks from environmental factors. The long-range goals of the Centers include understanding how environmental factors affect children's health, and promoting translation of basic research findings into intervention and prevention methods to prevent adverse health outcomes. This session will share latest research and discuss how the Centers foster research collaborations among basic, clinical, and behavioral scientists with participation from local communities.
September 13 – National Children’s Study
This session will provide an update on The National Children’s Study, the largest long-term study of children’s health ever conducted in the United States. The study plans to follow 100,000 children from before birth to age 21 to learn how the environment influences their health, development, and quality of life. Environment is broadly defined to include factors such as air, water, diet, sound, family dynamics, community and cultural influences, and genetics on the growth, development, and health of children across the United States.