Rebecca Morley, MSPP¹, Pat McLaine, RN, MPH², Joanna Gaitens, MSN, MPH¹, Diane Zerbe, MS³, and Adrienne Ettinger, ScD, MPH⁴. (1) National Center for Healthy Housing, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Suite 100, Columbia, MD 21044, 410-772-2774, rmorley@enterprisefoundation.org, (2) The National Center for Lead-Safe Housing, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Suite 205, Columbia, MD 45267, (3) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) Health Policy & Management and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 455, Baltimore, MD 21205

The National Healthy Homes Training Center and Network (NHHTCN) is aimed at educating environmental public health and housing professionals in the discipline of "healthy housing." This initiative, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), offers a unique opportunity to develop, disseminate, and evaluate a curriculum to cross-train health and housing professionals and is aimed at increasing public health workforce capacity. The organization and approach of our project team capitalizes on the particular strengths of each partner and builds on our ongoing “Healthy Homes” activities and network of colleagues with extensive, practical knowledge of Healthy Homes issues.

The goals of the project are to: • Provide training for public health practitioners in the assessment and treatment of housing related health hazards; • Promote cross training of environmental public health and housing practitioners in healthy housing principles; • Create a forum for the exchange of practical guidance about healthy housing strategies; • Develop a mechanism for the ongoing introduction of new research findings into public health training and practice; • Identify and optimize opportunities for networking, collaboration and partnerships.

When fully operational, the NHHTCN curriculum and resources will be delivered through universities and sites across the country and will include the use of distance learning technology. This session will present the concept of using the NHHTCN as a means for reconnecting the health, housing, and environmental disciplines through workforce development, capacity building, and policy dissemination.

Learning Objectives: