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Principal support for the Public Health Training Center (PHTC) is provided through a grant from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

 

NE ALLIANCE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT


Safer Homes: Closing the training gap in home inspections

The MA Public Health Inspector Training (MA PHIT) Housing Certificate Program (HCP), a new training designed to support the important role of housing inspections throughout the Commonwealth, recently surpassed the one-hundred trainee mark.

Offered twice a year to local health and housing inspectors, the latest course graduates will receive a Certificate of Completion and recognition at award ceremonies this spring at both the MA Health Officers Association and the MA Environmental Health Association meetings.

MA PHIT HCP is a partnership between the Office of Public Health Practice at Boston University School of Public Health and the city of Boston Inspectional Services and Health Departments, the MA Health Officers and Environmental Health Associations, and the MA Department of Public Health (DPH). It is the first ever comprehensive training and certification course for all health and housing inspectors charged with enforcing chapters I and II of the Massachusetts State Sanitary Codes. Representatives of these agencies developed the program over 8 months prior to pilot testing it in December 2009 with more than 30 Boston inspectors.

The housing certificate program, which averages six months to complete and 30 students per session, is the first in a series that will be developed under MA PHIT, and is in response to a large training gap in Massachusetts: there are almost no comprehensive training programs for the various sanitary codes that are the responsibility of local boards of health and health departments, and there are no standard field training opportunities for inspectors.

Prior to attending the 3-day classroom training, inspectors are required to view an online module detailing the basics of housing inspections. Classroom topics then cover the State Sanitary Code, essentials of healthy housing, proper ways to conduct inspections and write violations, and legal aspects of housing code enforcement. Classroom presenters include DPH Community Sanitation Program Assistant Director Paul Halfmann, as well as several other experts in the field of housing inspections and the legal system. Guest presenters in Boston were the Honorable Jeffrey M. Winik and Chief Magistrate Robert Lewis.

Prior to starting field training, inspectors must pass a written exam. A minimum of five supervised inspections are then required with a focus on identification of violations, proper use of inspection equipment, and communication techniques. The final course component is an independent inspection of a dwelling unit along with submission and grading of a completed inspection report and correction order.

Evaluative comments from a recent class of participants include: “Thank you for three full days of knowledge that will help me so much in my job.” “Best housing course/seminar I’ve ever attended.” And, “This was helpful and should continue for years to come.”

“This is a very exciting project," said Kathleen MacVarish, BUSPH Director of Practice Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor of Environmental Health. "There has been a great need for standardized classroom and field training in Massachusetts."

MacVarish credits the financial support of the New England Alliance for Public Health Workforce Development, a HRSA-funded training center housed at BUSPH, and the volunteer hours contributed by planning group members for moving this program from the idea stage to reality.

"We are using it as a model for other local health department program areas such as food protection (restaurant and retail inspections), swimming pools, and recreational camps for children,” she said. The first food protection training is scheduled to start later in 2011.

The city of Boston's housing inspectors were excited about participating in the inaugural training program and look forward to applying their new skills, according to Dion Irish, assistant commissioner of Boston Inspectional Services.

"We are extremely appreciative of the leadership shown by Boston University and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in helping us and our partner organizations in developing this program," said Irish. "Mayor Thomas M. Menino has challenged us to ensure that Boston has healthy, safe homes for our residents, and this program will not only help us towards that end, but will enable Massachusetts inspectors to become standards bearers in the housing inspection field."

Leon Bethune, director of the Environmental Health Division of the Boston Public Health Commission, said the newly developed, comprehensive housing certification program is an exciting opportunity for the community.

"It will help housing inspectors better identify problems and work with landlords and homeowners to ensure safe and healthy living environments for families," Bethune said. "We are also grateful for the additional financial support from the MA Environmental Health Association and MA Health Officers Association to regularly offer this program."