The Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners course brings together a diverse mix of housing and health professionals to promote practical and cost-effective methods for making homes healthier. A major strength of the course is the peer-to-peer learning that occurs between students. Through exercises, demonstrations and discussions, students better understand the roles, perceptions and challenges that their counterparts face. And they identify ways to coordinate their work to better protect residents from environmental and safety hazards in the home.
Pest Management Professionals play a crucial role in healthy homes because they are dealing with a significant source of health impacts - pests. They work with products that could cause harm if misused and often find themselves in the position of managing a resident's efforts to control pests. Finally, they are looking in the nooks and crannies of homes where they may identify problems not directly related to pests. PMPs will benefit from the course because they will:
- Get a better understanding of the health impacts of pests such as cockroaches and rats to better help clients, especially those struggling with respiratory problems, and convince clients of the need to address pest problems;
- Expand into new, potentially lucrative business opportunities helping clients resolve healthy homes problems beyond pests;
- Develop networks among the public health and housing community to strengthen the quality of services; and
- Gain insight into the perspectives of nurses, code inspectors, home inspectors, environmental health specialists, and community-based organizations that help them be more effective.
NCHH believes that the following modules would be of most benefit to pest management professionals:
- Keep It Pest-Free
- Keep It Clean
- Keep It Dry
- Overview
- Start With People
- Maintain the House
- Keep It Contaminant-Free
- Making It Work