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How does environmental exposure to pollutants affect the health of children and pregnant women? That’s precisely the area of interest and expertise of clinicians at the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, established at ����ֱ��’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing almost a year ago. One of 10 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units in the US, MACCHE (sounds like “match-ee”) serves residents in five states and the District of Columbia.

A few of their current projects include educating school nurses and child care providers about indoor air quality, addressing lead exposures in refugee children and hosting an educational webinar to discuss COVID-19 cleaning protocols.

It’s important work that MACCHE Co-Director Ruth McDermott-Levy ’96 MSN, ’08 PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, believes nurses are uniquely qualified to carry out. “Nurses do a really good job of communicating health risks and health concerns,” she says. “I see us as translators — we can leave all the medical jargon behind and really reach people.”

It’s also a natural extension of ����ֱ�� Nursing’s deep commitment to research and advocacy that aligns with MACCHE’s goal to increase awareness and understanding of environmental threats to children and pregnant women, health care professionals, public health officials and community organizations.

“There is tremendous value in being able to interact with people across the country on the topic of children’s health and the environment,” says Dr. McDermott-Levy, professor of Nursing, who brings considerable expertise and experience in environmental health to the Center. As the grant’s principal investigator, she will lead education efforts, providing consultations and referrals as well as helping to identify and manage environmental risks and exposures in the field.

Made possible through a four-year grant managed by the American Academy of Pediatrics with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency, MACCHE will also create unique and compelling opportunities for ����ֱ��ns to engage with a national network of collaborators.