Each affiliate in good standing is encouraged to designate one of its members and/or a team to receive a Certificate of Merit from NEHA, thereby nationally recognizing one of their own on a national level. Recipients are announced during the AEC awards program and in the Journal of Environmental Health. Deadline is May 27. Learn more and nominate a member today.
We hope all affiliate leadership can attend the AEC this summer. If you are, here are a few not-to-be-missed events for current and future affiliate leaders.
Questions? Need assistance registering? Contact Heather Folker at hfolker@neha.org.
Presented by the NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Program in collaboration with the Conference for Food Protection
June 7–9, 2022
Registration is open for the 2022 Retail Program Standards Symposium taking place June 7–9. This virtual symposium, presented by the NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Program in collaboration with the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), will include workshops on each of the standards, sessions on creating useful risk factor studies, assistance with developing a long-term Comprehensive Strategic Improvement Plan (CSIP), and more.
Monday, June 27 – Tuesday, June 28
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Daily
Fees: $25 for NEHA members or $50 for nonmembers
Join us for the pilot delivery of this new training! The introductory-level training was developed in partnership with the Body Art Education Alliance and focuses on the fundamentals of body art facility inspection. Course instructors are experienced body art facility inspectors and industry professionals, who have aided in the development of the NEHA Body Art Model Code, this training course, and other body art resources. Job-aids and resources will be included in course materials, so participants leave the course with the knowledge and tools to confidently inspect a body art facility.
This course covers:
Course registration includes a participant guide with resources and job aids. Join us at a special low price as we launch this new training.
June 28–July 1, 2022 Spokane, Washington (Spokane Convention Center) and Virtually
The NEHA AEC is so much more than a conference. It is the nexus for environmental health training, education, networking, and advancement. NEHA’s AEC is one of the most comprehensive training and education investment your organization can make. Your environmental health team will:
For more information about the AEC, please visit www.neha.org/aec.
June 26 and 27, 2022
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily
$449 for NEHA members and $549 for nonmembers. Includes the CP-FS Study Package (CP-FS manual, and CP-FS Flash Cards).
This two-day refresher course is designed to enhance your preparation for the NEHA CP-FS credential exam. Participants are expected to have prior food safety knowledge and training equal to the eligibility requirements to sit for the CP-FS exam. The course will cover exam content areas as described in the Candidate Information Brochure. The instructor will be available during and after the course for questions. All exams will be taken at a Pearson VUE computer testing center, not on paper at the conference. Apply online for the CP-FS exam. Please allow 2 weeks for processing COMPLETED applications.
Sunday, June 26 – Tuesday, June 28
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sunday and Monday, and 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Tuesday
$549 for NEHA members and $649 for nonmembers. Includes REHS/RS Study Guide.
This two-and-a-half-day refresher course is designed to enhance your preparation for the NEHA REHS/RS credential exam. Participants are expected to have a solid foundation of environmental health knowledge and training equal to the eligibility requirements to sit for the REHS/RS credential exam. This course alone is not enough to pass the REHS/RS credential exam. The class will cover exam content areas as described in the Candidate Information Brochure.
Note that an additional application and fee are required to sit for any credential exam. Exams must be taken at a Pearson VUE computer testing center; they will not be available at the conference. Apply online for the REHS/RS exam. Please allow two weeks for processing COMPLETED applications.
NEHA held its fifth annual Congressional Hill Day on Thursday, March 3. The NEHA Board of Directors met virtually with 38 congressional offices to discuss the environmental health profession and federal funding of environmental health. This all-day event let the board advocate for the profession before Congress. The focus this year was the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appropriations, highlighting the importance of federal funding for food safety and other environmental health objectives to the environmental health profession.
Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), cochair of the Congressional Public Health Caucus, worked with NEHA to include environmental health within the congressional resolution that commended public health professionals for their work during the pandemic. The Congressperson asked NEHA to schedule a site visit to a retail food establishment and local grocery store Harris Teeter in Williamsburg, Virginia, obliged. NEHA organized the site visit on Friday, April 22.
On Wednesday April 27 NEHA Executive Director Dr. David Dyjack and Director of Government Affairs Doug Farquhar met with staff from Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) regarding the inclusion of the term 'environmental health' within the PREVENT Pandemics Act. Such additions will ensure that the profession would be able to receive federal loan forgiveness, public health training, and recruitment opportunities.
NEHA/AAS Scholarship Fund
Consider contributing to the environmental health profession by donating to the Scholarship Fund. Your donation helps to secure further opportunities to dedicated students so that they will be empowered to sustain a healthier, safer, and cleaner tomorrow. Gifts are accepted online or by mail. Learn more and donate today.
The Journal of Environmental Health (JEH) seeks guest authors for the Building Capacity column. Our goal is to provide a platform to share capacity building successes from across the country and within different sectors of the environmental health profession, including academia, private industry, and state, local, tribal, and territorial health agencies. Submissions will be reviewed by NEHA technical advisors for data and technology and JEH staff for appropriate content, relevance, and adherence to submission guidelines. To learn more about the submission process and guidelines, please visit www.neha.org/jeh/building-capacity-column.
The NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Program awarded over $7 million in its first year to 228 unique state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions. An interactive grantee awards map is now available on our Year 1 Awards webpage, displaying type of grant and amount awarded for each grantee. If your jurisdiction was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for funding in year one, another opportunity to apply is soon approaching. Year two application will open this August for 2023 grants, offering one-year development base grants as well as optional add-on grants for mentorship, special projects, and training. Visit the Retail Grants webpage for training options, retail courses, and the latest updates.
NEHA will be updating its Body Art Model Code and requests review and comments from the environmental health and body art communities. The deadline to provide input is June 30. Review the code and submit a change request.
We now have a quarterly Body Art Newsletter where we will share updates on NEHA’s body art initiatives, details on upcoming events, and new resources available for regulators and industry.