Mid-America Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit

As part of its ongoing cooperative agreements with the Agency for Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC) has established a network of Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs). Each PEHSU is based at an AOEC member clinic at an academic center and is a collaboration between the pediatric clinic and the (AOEC) occupational and environmental clinic at each site. The PEHSU''s have been developed to provide education and consultation for health professionals, public health professionals and others about the topic of children''s environmental health.
The Mid-America Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (MAPEHSU) serves EPA Region 7. It is located at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS and is staffed by a Project Manager, a Toxicologist, Pediatrician and Occupational Medicine Physician. Calls to the MAPEHSU are answered by trained specialist in poison information.
The MAPEHSU staff is available for consultation about potential pediatric environmental health concerns affecting both the child and the family. Health care professionals may contact the MAPEHSU site for clinical advice. Parents are encouraged to consult their primary care health providers first and have them call the nearest PEHSU for advice. By engaging their personal clinician, medical evaluations can be initiated sooner and the personal physicians'' awareness of any environmental health is enhanced. If the primary care provider is unable to contact the MAPEHSU, parents may consult them directly. Parents and members of the general public may be interested in sources of information about children''s environmental health. In addition to individual and public health investigations, the MAPEHSU offers educational materials and programs regarding children''s environmental health.