Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit

The Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) is one of 10 regional federally funded clinical and educational centers. The mission of the PEHSU is to provide clinical consultation and education to families, health care professionals, public health officials, and community organizations who have concerns regarding environmental exposures in children and pregnant women.

The Region 2 PEHSU is located in New York City at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and serves New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and is a member of a national network of PEHSUs. The PEHSU network is managed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There are also satellite PEHSUs in Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Europe.

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have compiled the following resources to help keep families safe throughout NY, NJ, PR, and the USVI. Check out our fact sheet on Safe Cleaning in the Home for guidelines on how to safely use cleaning and disinfecting chemicals in the home. Healthcare providers may also use our Prescription for Preventions on Green Cleaning (en español) and Disinfecting (en español) to educate the families they serve on safer cleaning practices. For the most up to date versions of these resources, visit New York State Children’s Environmental Health Centers Network or the Transdisciplinary Center on Early Environmental Health Exposures.

Founded in 1999, our PEHSU has received core support from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We sponsor educational seminars, research, and career development at the Mount Sinai Health System and throughout Federal Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Center also serves as a clinical elective training site for medical students, residents, and other trainees.

We educate students, physicians-in-training, healthcare providers, parents, community members, governmental agencies, the media, and legislators about environmental health exposures in children and pregnant women.

Healthcare Provider Training:

We prioritize training healthcare providers to increase awareness and knowledge about reproductive and environmental health within the medical community. We aim to build the capacity of front-line providers to deliver the education and care needed to protect children from environmental exposures. Our expert faculty participate in Grand Rounds, teach courses in medical and public health school, develop and run workshops, and present on environmental health topics at local, regional, and national venues. To inquire about inviting one of our experts to speak, please email pehsu@mssm.edu

Community Outreach:

Community outreach helps us understand the concerns of the communities we serve and provides an opportunity to teach families key strategies to reduce environmental exposures. Outreach efforts are often done in partnership with local organizations. Our faculty and staff participate in community meetings, sit on advisory councils, work on community-based participatory research projects, and collaborate with diverse organizations.

To expand clinical services and educational programs in children's environmental health beyond the New York City area, the Region 2 PEHSU has worked with the New York State Assembly, the New York State Senate and the New York State Department of Health to build a statewide Network of Children’s Environmental Health Centers.

The New York City Children’s Environmental Health Center is located at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The network currently consists of seven Environmental Health Centers serving all regions of the state including:

  • Western NY Children's Environmental Health Center
  • Finger Lakes Children's Environmental Health Center
  • Upstate Children's Environmental Health Center
  • Albany Region Children's Environmental Health Center
  • Children's Environmental Health Center of the Hudson Valley
  • New York City Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai
  • Long Island Children's Environmental Health Center at Northwell and Stony Brook Medical Center

To request a consultation, call 1-866-265-6201 or email us at PEHSU@mssm.edu. A team member will respond to your request between 1 and 3 business days. If you or your child are currently experiencing symptoms, please see a medical provider. For immediate assistance with concerns about a suspected exposure or acute poisoning, contact 911 or the Poison Center at (1-800-222-1222) 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Our Environmental Pediatrics clinic provides outpatient clinical evaluations and coordinated services for children with known or suspected exposures to environmental toxins. We focus on helping families and communities promote healthy environments where children live, play, and learn.

We have been actively engaged in a number of important projects, including some that have received notable grants to make them possible.

Projects

  • Coordinating Center for: New York Statewide Children’s Environmental Health Centers 
  • Environmental Protection Agency Making a Visible Difference in Communities Initiative
  • U.S. Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico Children’s Environmental Health Initiatives: Disaster Recovery, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in schools, building capacity for children’s environmental health services
  • Project: Improving environmental health resources in primary care
  • Project: Screening families for social and environmental determinants of health using an electronic platform screening tool

Support and Grants

  • PEHSU Managers:

This material was supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and funded (in part) by the cooperative agreement award number 1 NU61TS000296-01-00 from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSU by providing partial funding to ATSDR under Inter-Agency Agreement number DW-75-95877701. Neither EPA nor ATSDR endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in PEHSU publications.

Christopher W. Bland, MPH
Region 2 PEHSU Coordinator, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Joseph Wilson, Jr., MHS
Region 2 PEHSU Coordinator, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Jennifer Acevedo
Data Coordinator, Region 2 PEHSU, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Maida Galvez, MD, MPH
PEHSU Director, Associate Professor, Departments of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, and the Department of Pediatrics

Perry Sheffield, MD, MPH
PEHSU Deputy Director, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, and the Department of Pediatrics

Lauren Zajac, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Sarah Evans, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Erin Thanik, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Joel Forman, MD
Pediatrician, Associate Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Environmental Medicine and Public Health

John Meyer, MD, MPH
Reproductive Environmental Health, Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Bambi Fisher, LCSW
Director, Women and Children's Services at Mount Sinai Health System Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Norman Zuckerman, MS
PEHSU Industrial Hygienist, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc
Senior PEHSU Faculty, Professor and Chair Emeritus

Robert Wright, MD, MPH
Toxicologist, Ethel H. Wise Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health

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