Meet the Environmental Health Program Team
Elizabeth Friedman, MD, MPH – Medical Director of Environmental Health; Region 7 PEHSU Director; efriedman@cmh.edu
Kevin Kennedy, MPH, CIEC – Environmental Health Program Director; Environmental Hygienist; kkennedy@cmh.edu
Minati Dhar, PhD – Pollen Count Program Manager, Environmental Health Laboratory; Research Associate; mdhar@cmh.edu
Luke Gard, CIEC – Healthy Schools Program Manager; Environmental Hygienist; lcgard@cmh.edu
Kait Ruether, MS – Healthy Schools Program; Environmental Hygienist; kemke@cmh.edu
Ryan Allenbrand MS, CIEC – Healthy Home Program Manager; Environmental Hygienist; rnallenbrand@cmh.edu
Eric Bowles, REHS/RS – Childhood Lead Poison Prevention Program Manager; Environmental Hygienist; edbowles@cmh.edu
Anita Didonna, CCRC – Community Health Specialist; acdidonna@cmh.edu
Connie Aubin – Administrative Coordinator and PEHSU Coordinator; mcaubin@cmh.edu
Community partnerships
The Environmental Health Program applies for and/or participates in various grants with our community partners to help provide opportunities for families and schools to participate in environmental health technical study grants. We currently have the following opportunities:
Current grant opportunities
The Children's Mercy Kansas City Asthma Friendly Homes Program (AFHP) currently has grant support from the Health Forward Foundation. The grant supports the AFHP to cover the costs of services. The AFHP provides children with asthma and their families with the opportunity to enroll in a home visiting program and get help with home-related indoor contaminants and irritants called asthma triggers in order to improve asthma health and management.
Through our collaboration with several Kansas City community programs and organizations, the AFHP will offer these no-cost services through Children's Mercy and its clinics and other local clinics and health providers. Several housing organizations and other non-profits the program offers enrollment in a home visit program for asthma that includes some possible resources to make an asthma patient’s homes healthier. Contact the Healthy Home Program for more details.
Community collaborators
The Environmental Health Program has many community collaborators that support our efforts to make home, school and childcare indoor environments healthier for children.
- Asthma Ready Communities
- Black Healthcare Coalition (BHCC)
- Children's Mercy Integrated Care Solutions (CMICS)
- City of Kansas City Missouri Health Department
- Community Action Agency of Greater Kansas City
- Community Health Council of Wyandotte County
- Habitat for Humanity
- Johnson County Health Department
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE)
- KC CARE Clinic
- Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC)
- Mid-American Regional Council (MARC)
- Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS)
- National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH)
- Northland Neighborhood Incorporated (NNI)
- Rebuilding Together Kansas City
- Sam Rodgers Health System
- Sleepyhead Beds
- Swope Health Systems
- Unified Government of Wyandotte County
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Economic Information
- Westside Housing Organization
Sponsors
The Environmental Health Program has business sponsors that help support our work to serve the Kansas City region.
- AllergyZone
- IAQ Training Institute (IAQTI)
- Midland True Value Hardware Store
- Mission: Allergy
- Prism Analytical Technologies, Inc.