Health workers rally around the environment at Annual Meeting. (cover story)

The article deals with the success of the American Public Health Association's (APHA) 132nd Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C. With a theme of Public Health and the Environment, the annual meeting which took place on November 6-10, 2004, offered hundreds educational and scientific sessions as well as networking and social events. Many of the scientific sessions focused on the meeting's theme, highlighting the way environmental issues influence the public's health. About $5,000 was donated to the association's annual Help Us Help Them campaign for the Earth Conservation Corps, which works with youth from low-income communities and helps instill pride in their natural surroundings. Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the recipient of the APHA 2004 Sedgwick award, spoke at the meeting closing session on the importance environmental factors have on human health. Discussions and sessions focused on a myriad of topics, including issues such as flu vaccine supplies, public health funding, human rights and the obesity epidemic. The meeting served not only as a venue for participants to take scientific information, but as a rallying cry for public health workers.