Another fantastic NEHA 2017 AEC is in the bag! The Accela Environmental Health team recently returned from the National Environmental Health Association’s Annual Education Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As in years past, it was again a pleasure to greet familiar faces and see where the environmental health sector is going (and meet the new, bright minds leading the way!).
The NEHA AEC is always a busy place – we typically divide our time at the event talking about Accela Environmental Health in the booth, serving as panel moderators, and presenting classes. This year, myself and my colleague Darryl Booth both led sessions, and Darryl was also a panelist in a well-attended session discussing Environmental Health Tracking and Informatics.
We had many productive conversations with attendees looking to learn how technology drives environmental health departments to build capacity to be more responsive, customer friendly and productive. Of particular interest this year was how health departments are embracing software in the cloud to be more resilient and cost-effective, and meeting the demands of a modern work environment.
When we weren’t in the booth or at the presenter’s podium, we spent the rest of our time at award ceremonies! For the past several years, Accela has administered a scholarship program to send environmental health professionals to the NEHA AEC. This year, we received almost 150 essay applications and selected 9 promising individuals, each of whom joined Darryl on stage to receive their well-deserved commendations.
2017 also heralded the 6th Accela customer to win the prestigious Samuel Crumbine Award for Food Safety, with our friends at Boulder County collecting the honors this time. We always like to see so many of our friends recognized – health departments that embrace technology usually boast innovative teams and talented leadership!
As always, it’s a pleasure to be present at the NEHA AEC. We look forward to seeing you in Anaheim, CA for the 2018 conference!