DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STRATEGIC PLAN 2015

Department of Environmental Health: Mission

Department of Environmental Health: Agency-Wide Values

Department Strategic Plan 2015 DOMAIN 1: HEALTHY PEOPLE Goal 1: Improve Denver s standing as a healthy city by focusing on kids and the built environment. (highlights indicate Peak Performance priority goals ) a) Increase healthy eating across all age spans, with particular attention to kids. b) Reduce the number of obese and overweight children, with particular attention to kids aged 2-5. c) Improve physical activity and nutrition standards and guidelines for child care centers and homes where child care is provided. d) Increased quality physical education and opportunities for moderate to vigorous physical activity in schools. e) Health considerations and analysis are incorporated in city policy, processes, and planning; new sidewalk infrastructure policy. f) Increased support for breastfeeding. g) Decreased number of establishments that sell tobacco to minors. Goal 2: Increase health equity for all Denver residents a) Develop capacity regionally and increase awareness about the built environment, healthy eating and active living. b) Increase safe and active environments that support physical activity for Denver communities. c) Expand urban agriculture. d) Create healthy food environments. e) Increase access to nutritious foods and beverages in underserved areas. f) Eliminate disparities in affordability and access to healthy food & beverages. g) Increase food security. h) Increase access to healthy foods. i) Increase affordability and access to clean power sources (e.g. solar power). Goal 3: Improve services to families by reducing autopsy reporting time to 30 days for most cases. a) NAME accreditation: i) Systematic regular review of policy manual by management team. ii) Monthly review of autopsy and case numbers by the Chief Medical Examiner. iii) Quarterly review of physician performance measures and workload by the Chief Medical Examiner. b) NAME accreditation:

i) Track autopsy number, external number, and chart review number both individually and in aggregate to calculate the NAME physician workload quarterly. ii) Use consulting pathologists to help offset workload issues. c) Increased customer service. Ideal outcome is to achieve greater than 90% of reports completed in 60 days or fewer, which exceeds the NAME benchmark of 90% completion within 90 days. Goal for 2015 is 75% completion of all reports within 30 days, while maintaining 90% completion within 60 days and greater than 95% completion within 90 days. d) Increased reporting of deaths by nursing homes and unlicensed care facilities, and increased scene response to these facilities. By doing so, OME provides assurance to the community that these facilities provide adequate care to an elderly population and ensures that facilities not providing an adequate standard of care are appropriately sanctioned. e) Continue support of Colorado Violent Death Reporting System, thereby providing customer service as well as information used to help understand violent death and the risk factors involved, and potentially developing strategies for prevention, increasing community safety. Goal 4: Increase community awareness of emerging health/environmental issues a) Dissemination of data on drug deaths in Denver, contributing to increasing the community's understanding of drug trends in the Denver area and by doing so helping to develop education and prevention strategies for the community. b) Public access to death data and links to community partners. c) Public education on community health issues and injury prevention. d) Public Health initiatives: Increase public awareness on topics such as suicide, motor vehicle crashes, drug use. e) Inform the public about health risks related to recreation in urban waters through all means possible (i.e., park rangers, website, social media). f) Increase environmental literacy in Denver schools Goal 5: Workforce development. a) Provide students in pre-medical and pre-forensic course studies the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experience in the forensic autopsy room, helping them prepare for a career in medicine, forensic science, or other related field. b) Contribute to the development of a well-trained workforce in the areas of medicolegal death investigation and forensic pathology, not only helping provide graduates of related forensic fields the opportunity for employment in related jobs, but also ensuring a welltrained workforce, ensuring that deaths are properly investigated, and increasing the overall health and safety of the community in which graduates are employed.

Goal 6: Help people in metro Denver diagnosed with HIV/AIDS live longer & reduce disparities among those receiving services. a) Decreased percentage of persons who are diagnosed with AIDS within three months of being newly diagnosed with HIV. b) Increase the percentage of persons with HIV infection attending a routine HIV medical care visit within three months of their HIV diagnosis. c) Increase percentage of persons with HIV infection retained in medical care. d) Increase percentage of persons with HIV infection with access to prescribed HIV/AIDS medications consistent with Public Health Service Guidelines. e) Increase percentage of persons with HIV with a viral load less than 200 copies/ml at last test. f) Enforce needle exchange ordinance; reduce number of HIV infections through shared needles; reduce number of Hep C infections through shared needles; and reduce mortality due to drug overdose. Goal 7: Assess prevalence and public risk posed by West Nile Virus a) Assure that mosquito larval habitat is minimized to the extent possible on public and private property within the City and County of Denver. b) Conduct weekly larval surveillance and larvicide treatments at identified chronically productive sites throughout the City during the mosquito season. c) Work with other City departments and other land management entities throughout the city to maximize control of potential vector mosquitoes. d) Conduct adult trapping in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environments state-wide Sentinel Zone effort to assess West Nile Virus within the City and County of Denver. e) Provide outreach and education to the public and other City agencies to reduce the impact of mosquitoes on City residents and visitors. Other: a) Become accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board. b) Maintain efficient internal operations. c) Provide graduate students in public health and public administration the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in the public health arena and collaborate with other divisions when making presentations to high school students. d) Improve DEH storage of archived records and inactive documents/items. e) Report deaths as required by regulation or statute, thereby ensuring proper death investigation. f) Regional forensic support and collaboration with neighboring counties. g) New facility for the Office of the Medical Examiner.

h) Acquisition of grant funding for needed equipment to improve operations. i) Regional medicolegal education site. j) Increased efficiency by utilizing better technology for day-to-day operations. DOMAIN 2: HEALTHY PLACES Goal 1: Reduce the incidence of critical violations in regulated settings. a) Implement a risk-based inspection schedule and administrative fine schedule for programs within the Healthy Families/Healthy Homes section where they do not currently exist. b) Maintain a high level of compliance with Denver's food safety regulations through continued effective education, technical assistance, fair enforcement, and an industry recognition program. Goal 2: Provide exceptional customer service a) Provide rapid complaint response times for citizens. b) Provide exceptional education and technical assistance to citizens and regulated industries. c) Provide exceptional customer service for internal agency stakeholders/partners. d) Increased customer service for citizens. e) Maintain a healthy workforce through continued education and communication. f) Create more collaborations and partnerships with city agencies and nonprofit partners. g) More efficient/cost effective operations. h) Utilize Chapter 24(Health and Sanitation) when appropriate to abate public health concerns not previously addressed in existing regulations. i) Complaints from Denver residents that concern environmental and public health and the built environment are addressed. Goal 3: Healthy children and healthy housing for low-income populations. a) Remediate environmental hazards in low income homes by providing healthy homes assessments, education, and assistance. b) Complete the Healthy Eating/Active Living (HEAL) pilot project in the child care program. c) Provide educational information with each child care inspection on the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. d) Assess compliance with nutritional and daily outdoor activity requirements during the course of child care facility inspections. DOMAIN 3: HEALTHY PETS

Goal 1: Maintain high shelter live release rates. a) Maintain high live release rates and lower euthanasia at DAS and other area shelters. b) Increase and improve staff interaction with owners to promote pet retention. c) Target new customers for DAS services through marketing and outreach. d) Increased adoption rates. Increase awareness of DAS as a go-to shelter for adoptions in Denver. e) Expand our network of transfer partners. f) Improve relationships and communication with current transfer partners. Goal 2: Improve customer experience. a) Reduce the response time to calls for service for routine calls for service by 20%. b) Improve the process of collecting the required call for service information that is generated from the 311 operators. c) Improve the process of closing out the 311 calls from the current average of 21 days to 5 days or less. d) Create clearer and more flexible standards for pet care and behavior. e) Increase in number of dogs returned to owners in the field rather than taken to the shelter. f) Create more efficiency in the front office section through reallocation of workload to reduce accounting requirements for customer facing staff. g) Enhance customer experience through more customer-focused interactions, better questions asked at start of visit, and customer first approach. h) Increase compliance with Dog License Program through better information to public and offering licenses at other outlets for convenience. Create Cat Registration Program and microchip all adoptable cats to ensure some form of identification is going out with adoptable cats since licenses are no longer required. i) Improve adoption customer service through asking detailed questions of adopter to make best match. Goal 3: Improve pet responsibility. a) Improve pet responsibility, including vaccinations, spay and neutering and daily pet care through offering a second vaccination clinic and through ACO interaction in the field. b) Enhance awareness of pet responsibility and animal welfare programs in the community through outreach and marketing. c) Increase Community Outreach and Education activities in collaboration with Community Partnerships Section. d) Improve compliance with dog off-leash laws through proactive animal control outreach efforts. e) Increase awareness of various new DAS programs and initiatives.

f) Continue Proactive Animal Control to improve pet responsibility, including vaccinations, spay and neutering and daily pet care in targeted neighborhoods with compliance issues. g) Support youth humane education initiatives. Other: a) Expand volunteer engagement through more offerings throughout the Division. b) Improve volunteers' understanding of shelter, roles, needs, and policies. c) Expand Volunteer Program by expanding hours for volunteers, jobs offered to volunteers, adding a volunteer evaluation to create tiers of volunteers to provide more opportunities for skilled volunteers to assist in the division. d) Improve community awareness and image of DAS. e) Improve image and visibility of DAS online. f) Increase total fund & diversify sources of fundraising. g) Improve relationships and communication with local veterinary community DOMAIN 4: HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT Goal 1: Attain all National Ambient Air Quality Standards by 2020. a) Monitor and participate in regulatory rulemaking and procedures before the Regional Air Quality Council and the Air Quality Control Commission. b) Engage with stakeholders and partners like the Regional Air Quality Council, other local public health agencies, and nonprofits to advocate for public health based standards for air quality and appropriate policies and programs to achieve those standards. c) Provide data, educational and advocacy opportunities for the public regarding the link between air quality and health. i. Develop plan to establish air pollution monitoring station at Swansea Elementary School in 2016. ii. Make air quality modeling projections available through Map It Denver in 2015 d) Ensure municipal operations and CCD-permitted point and mobile sources (as applicable) are in compliance with state regulations and permit conditions. Goal 2: Make all Denver rivers and creeks fishable and swimmable by 2020. a) Conduct monitoring and report on quantitative water quality assessments on annual basis to determine progress to goal and prioritize areas requiring focus. b) Make sure the City is informed and active in regulatory process and continually strives to improve conditions so as to meet water quality standards. c) Participate on regional stakeholder planning and policy development on issues that impact water quality. d) Evaluate effectiveness of actions taken by others to improve water quality.

e) Inform members of public about actions they can take to improve water quality (website, social media, public meetings). Goal 3: Effective emergency preparedness and response a) Effectively respond to all emergency incidents that include an environmental or public health component to the response b) Effectively communicate environmental and public health responsibilities and purpose during an emergency incident c) Demonstrate the city s ability to manage environmental and public health emergency incidents by maintaining staff professional certifications and providing technical expertise to government and community partners in emergency prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery d) Enhance environmental and public health emergency response and recovery capabilities by maintaining response plans, participating in preparedness exercises, completing required training, and participating on regional committees e) Increase community emergency preparedness, ensuring OME is adequately prepared for a potential mass fatality situation, increasing the safety and welfare of the community. f) Train a team of volunteers to help in disasters, which will augment OME's resources in the event of a mass fatality event, allowing more optimal response. DOMAIN 5: HEALTHY PLANET Goal 1: Reduce greenhouse gases to below 1990 levels by 2020 and hold total energy consumed below 2012 levels a) Complete and release Climate Action Plan. b) Complete annual greenhouse gas inventory. c) Complete an energy plan with strategies that will significantly increase Denver s energy efficiency and shift energy sources towards renewables. d) Develop and implement an expanded set of programs and policies to increase the energy efficiency of large commercial and multi-family buildings in the city. e) Collaborate with Public Works on the 2020 Mobility goal. f) Develop and implement community-wide environmental transportation strategies, such as an electric vehicle community plan. g) Develop a long term vision for divesting our power from coal and other high-carbon energy sources. Goal 2: Improve resource conservation and contaminated sites assessment reduce energy & water use and landfill waste. Increase renewables and land use opportunities. Minimize regulatory compliance burden.

a) Increase resource conservation in City and County of Denver, business community, and neighborhoods. b) Use the Environmental Capital Fund to incentivize and advance sustainability initiatives and reduce city liability. c) Enhance early engagement with City agencies prior to property acquisitions and significant construction/renovation projects to minimize existing environmental liability, prevent any new liability where possible, and reduce regulatory compliance burden. Goal 3: Maintain ISO14001 certified environmental management system (EMS) in all City agencies. a) Maintain Environmental Management System (EMS) in all City agencies; expand EMS engagement with a broader cross-section of agency representatives through improved outreach/communication and achievement recognition; align EMS with 2020 Sustainability and Peak Performance goals (where appropriate). b) Manage environmental impacts from City facilities and operations to ensure compliance with applicable legal and other requirements; implement activities that go above and beyond compliance through enhanced EMS/Facility Compliance team integration. Other: a) Environmentally sustainable land use of existing under-utilized properties