ACMT Awarded New Five-Year Cooperative Agreement With CDC to Build Public Health Capacity of Medical Toxicologists

The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) is pleased to announce it has been named a recipient of a new five-year cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as part of the Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health program. The CDC National Partners program is a capacity-building assistance (CBA) program aimed at increasing the knowledge, skill, and ability to deliver essential public health services, improve organizational and systems capacity and capability to address prioritized, equity-based public health priorities, and strengthen the nation's public health infrastructure and performance.

ACMT’s winning proposal, “Strengthening the Public Health System and Services through a Capacity Building Assistance Program for Medical Toxicologists”, highlights medical toxicologists’ critical role to play in public health response and aims to build capacity of medical toxicologists to collaborate with governmental public health using a “three-pronged” approach: 1) improving the ability of medical toxicologists to communicate complex toxicological information by increasing knowledge and understanding of best practices to support and improve risk communication; 2) providing enhanced training and education to medical toxicologists on key public health concepts and competencies, including social determinants of health, health equity, and health disparities; and 3) strengthening medical toxicologists’ engagement with governmental public health through increased information on public health opportunities and the establishment of a peer-to-peer network of medical toxicologists already working closely with and in governmental public health agencies and those with limited experience but with interest in governmental public health.

This agreement will provide $200,000 each year for the next five years to support these capacity building activities.