NH Partners for Healthy Schools

1
NH Partners for Healthy Schools

• Orientation

2
NH Partners for Healthy Schools History and
Development

• Lindsay Dearborn, M.Ed., MPH NH Asthma Control
  Program
• Division of Public Health Services
• NH Department of Health and Human Services
• Edward Murdough, PE
• Administrator
• Bureau of School Approval Facility
• Management
• NH Department of Education

3
Program Outline

1. Orientation Meeting
2. Building and Asthma Management Issues Training
   Data Collection
3. Building Assessment and Walkthrough Training
   Data Collection
4. Building Walkthrough Data Collection
5. Planning and Implementation Review Data, Set
   Priorities, Develop Work Plan, Implement, Evaluate

4
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

• Roles and Responsibilities
• Healthy Schools Program Partners
• Name of District and Schools
• Duration 12-24 months, adjusted as needed

5
MOU Roles Responsibilities

• Program Partners
• Provide orientation and training
• Assign mentor(s) and provide technical assistance
  
• Participate in Healthy Schools Team meetings
• Facilitate baseline and intervention data
  collection
• Identify needs/problems as well as assets and
  barriers

6
MOU Partner Roles Responsibilities, cont.

• Assist Healthy Schools Teams in selecting
  feasible objectives and activities to address
  needs
• Assist schools in developing and implementing a
  work plan
• Evaluate the impact of interventions, document
  accomplishments

7
MOU Roles Responsibilities School
Districts/schools

• Assemble Healthy Schools Teams
• Identify key contacts
• Obtain support from key school personnel
• Participate in orientation and planning meetings
  
• summarize meetings, record the process, outline
  next steps.

8
MOU School Roles Responsibilities, cont

• Conduct pre- and post assessments
• Identify needs, assets and barriers
• Select feasible objectives and activities to
  address needs
• Develop and implement an improvement/work plan
• Share lessons learned

9
KEYS TO SUCCESS

• Build diverse Healthy Schools Team
• Identify key school contact and an asthma
  champion
• Use a work plan and timetable to implement
  activities
• Recognize and resolve problems or obstacles
• Obtain administration and other school personnel
  support

10
Program Partners Interventions

• New Hampshire Asthma Control Program (NHACP)
• New Hampshire Department of Education (DOE)
• New Hampshire Department of Environmental
  Services (DES)
• Breathe New Hampshire (BNH)
• New Hampshire Partnership for High Performance
  Schools (NHPHPS)
• New Hampshire Coalition for Occupational Safety
  Health (NHCOSH)
• Council for Children and Adolescents with Chronic
  Health Conditions (CCACHC)
• New Hampshire Local Government Center (LGC)
• New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets
  Foods

11

• Program Goals
• Address asthma from a public health perspective
• Reduce the impact of the disease

• Program Activities
• Develop statewide partnerships
• Increase public awareness
• Improve health outcomes
• Reduce environmental risks
• Provide asthma surveillance information
• Program Contact Lindsay Dearborn, M.Ed., MPH
• Phone [phone], Fax [phone]
  Email ldearborn_at_dhhs.state.nh.us

12
Provide educational leadership and services
Promote equal educational opportunity and
quality services and programs Enable New
Hampshire residents to become fully productive
members of society

• Building Aid and School Health Consultant
  Programs
• Provide up to 60 of the cost of new construction
  or substantial renovation of school buildings
• Provide information and technical advice
  concerning school health issues planning,
  construction, and maintenance of school
  facilities
• Program Contacts
• Edward R. Murdough, PE, Administrator
  Katherine Rannie, RN, MSC
• Phone [phone] [phone]
  emurdough_at_ed.state.nh.us
  krannie_at_ed.state.nh.us

13
Sustain a high quality of life for all citizens
by protecting and restoring the Environment and
the publics health in New Hampshire.

• Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool
  (HealthySEAT)
• Free, downloadable EPA software tool
• School districts can evaluate and manage their
  school facilities
• Specific customized information developed for New
  Hampshire
• Free training offered by DES.
• District-level staff can conduct voluntary
  facility self-assessments and track and manage
  environmental conditions school-by-school.

14
Sustain a high quality of life for all citizens
by protecting and restoring the Environment and
the publics health in New Hampshire
Clean Air Zones School officials can turn their
school communities into Clean Air Zones adopt a
no-idling policy and protect the health of
children, drivers, teachers and all who enter the
schoolyard from the harmful effects of exhaust
fumes. Program Contact Jessica Morton,
Indoor Air Quality Specialist, NH DES Phone
[phone] jessica.morton_at_des.nh.gov
15
Support healthy breathing for all NH residents.

• Asthma Care for Kids
• A presentation for school personnel and child
  care providers
• Topics asthma triggers
• warning signs
• symptoms
• care plans
• what to do in emergencies
• Helping children breathe easier and creating a
  healthier indoor environment.
• Program Contact Lisa Stockwell, Asthma Program
  Manager
• Phone [phone]
• lstockwell_at_breathenh.org

16
Support healthy breathing for all NH residents.

• Additional Programs Offered
• Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) empowering youth
  in New Hampshire through developing leadership
  and advocacy skills.
• Breathe New Hampshire Lending Library 3D
  displays, hands-on models, DVDs, and videos
  pertaining to various aspects of lung health.
  Open to any educator or health care provider at
  any public or private school, college, health
  organization or company in New Hampshire.
• No Butts About It (NBAI) an interactive
  tobacco prevention curriculum for fifth grade
  students implemented in the school setting.
  Through the program, students learn about the
  addictive nature of tobacco, the health effects
  of tobacco use, as well as the deceptive nature
  of tobacco advertising.

17
An initiative of The Jordan Institute Improve
the environment, the economy and public health by
reducing fossil fuel use in buildings.

• Granite State Energy Efficiency Program (GSE2)
• Full building energy efficiency assessments
• Solutions development project planning
• Financial modeling

Other initiatives Environmentally responsive
site planning Environmentally preferable
materials and products/ Green Cleaning
Renewable energy technologies High
efficiency electric lighting High performance
heating/ventilation/air-conditioning Recycling
and Composting waste

• Program Contact
• Kirk Stone, NH Partnership for High Performance
  Schools
• [phone]
• kstone_at_nhphps.org

18
NH Coalition for Occupational Safety Health
Advocate for occupational health and safety and
workers' rights Educate NH workers Help
workers and unions get technical, educational
and legal services

• Tools for Schools
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Indoor Air
  Quality program for schools (www.epa.gov/iaq/schoo
  ls)
• Development of IAQ teams in over a hundred
  schools in NH
• 1 on 1 assistance

Program Contact Sandi Chabot, NH Coalition for
Occupational Safety Health (603)
226-0516 schabot_at_nhcosh.org
19

• Provide programs and services that
• strengthen member governments and
• the ability of officials and employees to
• serve the public.
• Act as a catalyst for dialogue, advocacy and
  action
• Advise on problems
• Provide benefits and risk-management services
• Provide education/training
• Serve as a resource for information

Program Contact Matt Comai School Risk Management Representative Phone [phone] x 251, mcomai_at_nhlgc.org




20
Council for Children Adolescentswith Chronic
Health Conditions (CCACHC)

• Advocate and collaborate with state and local
  agencies to improve
• Access to regular school and health care
• Community capacity to respond to needs of
  children and adolescents with chronic health
  conditions
• Delivery of services and support
• Program Contact
• Denise A. Brewitt, Executive Director
• [phone]
• dbrewitt_at_ccachc.org

21
Promotes agriculture in the public interest and
to serve farmers and consumers in the
marketplacesAssures safe and healthy food
supplies andProvides accurate information on
prices and availability of farm commodities and
crops and develops markets for the state's
farmers.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

• IPM combines the use of biological, cultural,
  physical and chemical tactics in ways that
  minimize health and environmental risks when
  controlling pests.
• Education and Training
• Grant
• Program Contact
• Arife Ozkan, Pesticide Registration IPM
  Coordinator
• [phone]
• arife.ozkan_at_agr.state.nh.us

22
Positive Outcomes

• Reduce asthma triggers
• Reduce chemical/toxic exposures/pollutants
• Reduce use of inhalers/medication
• Reduce visits to the school nurse
• Reduce student and staff absenteeism due to
  illness
• Reduce pest infestations
• Reduce workers comp/liability for district

23
Positive Outcomes

• Reduce operating/energy costs
• Increase functional space in school
• Create ownership of school issues
• Develop programs specific to needs and population
• Increase internal capacity to improve and change
• Improve teamwork in the school
• RESULT HIGHER TEST SCORES!!!

24
Connecticut Department of HealthSuccess Stories

• Chester reduced asthma-related health visits
  from 463 to 82 over 4 years
• Hartford reduced asthma incidents 21.2
• Waterford reduced IAQ health complaints 74
• Hamden reduced absenteeism 50
• North Haven reduced respiratory illness 48
• http//www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a3140q387420
  

25
Homework

• Develop a communication plan
• Build Healthy Schools Team(s)
• Build support for the program
• Start Collecting Data
• Comfort Survey
• School Employee Indoor Air Quality
  Questionnaire
• health office visits for asthma, allergies and
  other
  respiratory health problems
• of absences due to same
• students with asthma
• students with asthma management plans
• students with asthma medication

26
Comfort Survey and Mapping

• Sandra V. Chabot, Program Coordinator
• NH Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
  (NHCOSH)
• 57 School Street 2nd Floor
• Concord, NH 03301
• 603-226-0516
• schabot_at_nhcosh.org

27
Baseline

• Survey and checklists are tools in the process
• Looking for patterns of time and symptoms
• Distribute to all school personnel
• Looking to understand the staffs perception of
  the buildings
• indoor environment
• Non-threatening environment
• Everyone under one umbrella

28
Comfort Survey Mapping

• Distribute as soon as possible - give a week to
  return and go for 100 if possible
• Obtain a good map of school(s) with HVAC overlay
• Color code information and transfer to map
• Uses
• Highlights locations where symptoms or
  discomfort are being reported
• Provides a visual of issues and comfort zones
• Guidance and direction for walkthrough
• Helps zone in on hot spots
• Get parents involved in process

29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
Tools for Schools Checklists

• Provides more detailed data
• Covers whole school at once
• Provides additional information on pollutant
  sources
• Provides information on other stressors
• Lighting
• Noise
• Timing
• An educational tool to raise awareness

33
(No Transcript)
34
Websites to Visit

• http//www.epa.gov/iaq/schools
• http//www.edfacilities.org
• http//www.cdc.gov/
• www.nhcosh.org

35
School Employee Indoor Air Quality Questionnaire

• Summarizes the burden of asthma and the health
  impact of the schools air quality on its
  employees
• Should be confidential and contain no
  identifiable information (i.e., name and room
  number)

36
Conclusion

• Dates for remaining meetings
• Meeting 2
• Building and Asthma Management Issues
• Common indoor air pollutants
• Basic HVAC Principles
• Asthma triggers and how to reduce them
• Review Comfort Survey for Homework
• Assign tasks to correlate data
• Start making maps to compare to walkthrough data