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Mission

The mission of the Environmental Health Education Center is to address environmental health issues by engaging in education, research, practice, policy and advocacy.  The Center’s primary focus is on the nursing profession and working collaboratively with community groups, health professionals, advocacy organizations, and government agencies in addressing environmental health challenges.

Vision

The Environmental Health Education Center envisions a global environment in which nurses play an integral part in ensuring that homes, schools, workplaces and communities are free from toxic chemicals and pollution. 

Values

The Environmental Health Education Center promotes the integration of environmental health into nursing education, research and practice in order to strengthen the indispensable contribution that nurses make to the health of the public. 

In order to achieve this goal, EHEC has adopted the values set forth by the American Public Health Association’s Environmental Health Principles and Recommendations for Public Health Nursing:

1. Safe and sustainable environments are essential conditions for the public’s health.
2. Environmental health is integral to the role and responsibilities of all public health nurses.
3. All public health nurses should possess environmental health knowledge and skills. 
4. Environmental health decisions should be grounded in sound science.
5. The Precautionary Principle is a fundamental tenet for all environmental health endeavors.
6. Environmental justice is a right of all populations.
7. Public awareness and community involvement are essential in environmental health decision-making.
8. Communities have a right to relevant and timely information for decisions on environmental health. 
9. Environmental health approaches should respect diverse values, beliefs, cultures, and circumstances.
10. Collaboration is essential to effectively protecting the health of all people from environmental harm.
11. Environmental health advocacy must be rooted in scientific integrity, honesty, respect for all persons, and social justice.
12. Environmental health research addressing the effectiveness and public health impact of nursing interventions should be conducted and disseminated. 

For the complete version of this document, click here. 

The Center also subscribes to the American Nurses’ Association’s Environmental Health Principles... coming soon!