Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment
Who We Are
The Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and Environment (MACCHE), a federally-funded center cosponsored with the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, provides education and outreach to health professionals, parents and the community in order to address environmental risks to children. MACCHE is the official Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit for EPA Region III, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
To achieve that overarching goal, MACCHE works to:
- Increase cooperation among providers and occupational and environmental health professionals.
- Educate health professionals and communities about addressing environmental risks to children.
- Develop new knowledge about communicating effectively with clinicians, parents, and patients about pediatric environmental health issues.
- Reduce environmental health disparities among children.
MACCHE is funded by the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC) through a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What We Do
MACCHE uses an array of educational, clinical and communications strategies to reach health care and public health professionals, as well as parents. The Center:
- Brings physicians with expertise in pediatrics and in environmental health into the same clinic visit at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. This increases cooperation and the exchange of information and enhances the evaluation of children whose health problems may be related to their environment.
- Provides consultation services to parents, members of the public and physicians, nurses, departments of public health and others through a hotline and website.
- Sponsors grand rounds, continuing medical education programs and other seminars to educate health professionals about environmental health hazards.
- Recruits pediatric sub-specialists to assist in developing specialty-specific environmental health information.
- Provides access to a library of educational materials, develops training materials and disseminates authoritative information.
- Develops new knowledge about how clinicians, parents and patients communicate about pediatric environmental health issues in order to create more effective educational programs and communications strategies.
- Participates in the World Health Organization's International Network for Child Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES).
MACCHE has also teamed with Lead Safe D.C. to support the DC Lead Prevention Task Force, a coalition of community groups that attack the problem of lead exposure on many fronts, particularly with respect to housing. The Task Force has worked closely with members of the DC City Council to change District legislation on lead screening and housing inspections.
Faculty
Contact Us
The Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment
2100 M St., NW, Suite 203
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
Phone: (202) 994-1166 or (866) 622-2431 (toll free)
Fax: (202) 994-0011
Email: eohaoa@gwumc.edu
Web site: www.health-e-kids.org
