About the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU)

We are a national network of experts in child health issues caused by environmental exposures. Together, we make up the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) and work together to improve health systems to make safer communities for children and families.

What Do PEHSU Do?

We work with health care professionals, parents, schools, community groups, federal, state, and local government agencies, and others to address reproductive and children’s environmental health issues. The basic services of the PEHSU network include:

Community Education and Outreach

  • Raise awareness about environmental conditions that may harm pregnant women, children, and families
  • Provide guidance on ways to prevent and/or reduce harmful environmental exposures in everyday situations
  • Provide practical advice on helping children cope and recover during and after environmental disasters (e.g., floods, wildfires, chemical spills, and other crises)

Health Professional Training

  • Work with medical and nursing schools to add environmental health to curricula
  • Train health professionals in practice
  • Elevate the importance of public health
  • Conduct a variety of educational trainings (in-person and remotely)
  • Publish peer-reviewed articles that address environmental health
  • Translate health care research into health practice

Consultation and Referral

  • Provide medical management guidance to health professionals
  • Evaluate suspected toxic exposures
  • Identify and interpret appropriate diagnostic tests
  • Refer, as necessary, to specialty care

There are 10 PEHSU, each responsible for a different geographical region of the United States (US). Each PEHSU is based at an academic health institution with experts in pediatrics, allergy/immunology, neurodevelopment, toxicology, occupational and environmental medicine, nursing, reproductive health and other specialized areas. The PEHSU work together to address children’s environmental health issues that affects families and communities.

PEHSU Network

Program Outreach Materials

PEHSU Vision Statement

Healthy Environments For All Children - Powered By PEHSU

PEHSU Mission Statement

The mission of the PEHSU program is to improve reproductive and children's health by leading the integration of environmental health into clinical care and public health while supporting communities to address historical injustices and ongoing environmental racism and address the existential threat of climate change.

PEHSU history

The PEHSU National Program Office is implemented by the Public Health Institute (PHI) and its partner, the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC) for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The PEHSU program was created in 1998 by ATSDR and the EPA.

Funder Disclaimer

The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) are supported by cooperative agreement FAIN: NU61TS000356 with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR).  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also provides support through Inter-Agency Agreement 24TSS2400078 with CDC/ATSDR. The Public Health Institute supports the PEHSU as the National Program Office. The content on this website has not been formally disseminated by CDC/ATSDR or the EPA and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Use of trade names that may be mentioned is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the CDC/ATSDR or EPA.

The information contained on this website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your/your child’s primary care provider. There may be variations in treatment that your provider may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

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