What Challenges Face the Environmental Health Workforce?
The economic downturn has placed additional strain on an already vulnerable and fragmented EH system. A recent survey by the National Association of County and City Health Officials found that, in 2008 alone, more than half of the nation’s local health departments had either laid off employees or lost them through attrition and have not replaced them due to budget limitations. With EH representing up to a quarter of the local public health workforce, these cuts have deep effects. Another challenge is that an estimated 40%–50% of the EH workforce in state and local agencies may be eligible to retire in the next 5 years. Also, in addition to training gaps among current EH professionals, the lack of accredited EH college programs poses a challenge in meeting the demand for much-needed practitioners that can perform necessary services.
