Public health performance management: opportunities for environmental public health.

edi tor ’s note: NEHA strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column from the Environmental Health Services Branch (EHSB) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal. In this column, EHSB and guest authors from across CDC will highlight a variety of concerns, opportunities, challenges, and successes that we all share in environmental public health. EHSB’s objective is to strengthen the role of state, local, and national environmental health programs and professionals to anticipate, identify, and respond to adverse environmental exposures and the consequences of these exposures for human health. The services being developed through EHSB include access to topical, relevant, and scientific information; consultation; and assistance to environmental health specialists, sanitarians, and environmental health professionals and practitioners. The conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC. LCDR Justin Gerding is an environmental health officer in the CDC Envi­ ronmental Health Services Branch. Julianne Price is the Florida Department of Health’s Statewide Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Envi­ ronmental Health (PACE EH) coordinator and an environmental specialist at the Indian River County Department’s Division of Environmental Health.