Funded Program:
National Environmental Public Health Tracking - Network Implementation
Program Announcement # EH06-601

Program Description:

The Connecticut Environmental Public Health Tracking Program’s (CT EPHT) goal is to develop a sustainable state network that meets or exceeds Public Health Information Network functions and specifications.

The Connecticut Tracking Program will continue to work with other programs within the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) and with other interested agencies to identify common needs, to promote resource and information sharing, and to facilitate public health actions that improve the health of communities. Some proposed program initiatives include:

• A Collaborative Project with University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The Connecticut Tracking Program will continue to be part of a collaborative project coordinated by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and several other states in the northeast. The project will focus on an analysis of birth certificate and air pollution data in order to examine the effects of air pollution on birth outcomes. The Connecticut Tracking Program and UMDNJ will work together to complete the data analysis. UMDNJ will combine the results of the Connecticut analysis with the other states to develop regional conclusions.
• Develop a private well water tracking system. Such a system would allow state licensed well drillers, laboratories, and local health officials to enter well data on-line via the CT DPH Tracking application. This system would also be available to state and local health departments and the Department of Environmental Protection and provide the ability to track contamination over the lifespan of the well, and provide a comprehensive picture of what is occurring in specific wells./li>

The California Tracking Program will include the following core measures on its Network:

• Asthma and heart attacks,
• Carbon monoxide poisonings,
• Cancer,
• Blood lead levels in children,
• Birth defects,
• Drinking water contaminants,
• Air quality, and
• Vital statistics.

The Connecticut Environmental Public Tracking Program will also include occupational health information.