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ANHE Regional Forum: North East

Over 400 ANHE Members in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands are working to assure that all people have access to healthy air, water, soil, food, and climate. We host events, share information about what’s going on, and create opportunities for nurses to talk to their legislators and each other about all things environmental health.

What We’re Working On

Tell Governor Hochul: Lead on Climate Safety

It is more important than ever for states to act on climate change. States—and their governors—can be powerful leaders in building a clean energy economy. That’s why we’re asking Governor Hochul to keep stepping up to slash climate pollution, protect children’s health, and ensure environmental justice. Our future depends on it.

Meet Your North East Regional Forum Organizer

Adrienne Wald EdD, MBA, RN, CNE, MCHES (she, her)

Dr. Adrienne Wald, EdD, MBA, RN, CNE, MCHES is an Associate Professor at Mercy College, School of Nursing. Dr. Wald has been a nurse, health administrator and educator for over 45 years. She holds a Doctorate degree from Teachers College Columbia University, MBA in health care management from Adelphi University, BSN from Boston University.  Dr. Wald’s areas of teaching expertise are nursing research, leadership, policy, and health promotion. Her clinical areas are oncology nursing and public health. She served as a mentor in the inaugural environmental nursing Fellowship program, and is active in the research, climate change, and advocacy work groups and in the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), —serving as an evidence analyst on an exertional heat-related illness, and on the Evidence-based Practice Committee; she is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, Nursing section. Her research has been published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, the American Journal of Health PromotionJournal of Nursing ScholarshipJournal of Nurse Practitioners, and Nursing Economics and she has presented her work at national and regional conferences.  Adrienne is a longtime activist on anti-war, environmental issues/climate change impact on health, opioid epidemic, and gun violence. She participated in FireDrillFridays with Jane Fonda and looks forward to continuing to work passionately for peace, justice, and planetary health.

Contact Adrienne at awald@mercy.edu

Highlights

New York Nurses urged Governor Hochul and Comomissioner McDonald to protect drinking water in New York!
As the EPA announced that they’re rolling back Biden’s drinking water standards, ANHE Nurses in the North East Regional Forum took action!
 
ANHE North East and Environmental Advocates NY organized a sign-on letter to Governor Hochul and Commissioner McDonald (from DoH) urging them to:
  1. Implement the Biden Era federal limits on PFAS in drinking water: Establish Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) each for PFOA and PFOS, MCLs of 10 ppt each for PFNA, PFHxS, and GenX, and a Hazard Index covering PFNA, PFHxS, GenX, and PFBS, with compliance required no later than 2029; and 
  2. Advance long-delayed regulations to set Notification Levels on a host of other PFAS chemicals and additional emerging contaminants.
ANHE Nurses joined Beyond Plastics on May 7th in Albany to support passage of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act at People Over Plastic Rally & Advocacy Day

Nurses and Health Advocates gathered at the Legislative Office Building at the NY State Capitol in Albany to urge your state legislators to put people over plastic by passing the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act and the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. Together, these critical bills will address the crisis of planet-warming, ocean-polluting, landfill-clogging, human health-harming single-use plastics by reducing them at the source while saving taxpayers money and providing support for recycling and reuse efforts.

In September this year, Climate Week NYC returns to the City of New York

Climate Week NYC 2025 will be a platform where some of the big challenges of our time are being discussed. How to stay competitive in a changing world, how to reduce costs and swiftly unlock barriers, where to spot opportunities, and the investments in clean tech that are powering shifts. Learn more here.

Read Adrienne Wald’s Recent Letter to the Editor