PACE-EH

Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH)

The Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH) was developed by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to engage and empower communities in identifying and prioritizing the environmental health "stressors" in their respective neighborhoods.

The PACE-EH program was been successfully implemented in 10 communities across the United States and the South Gate effort will be the first of its kind in California. In accordance to the protocol, the South Gate Community Environmental Health Action Team (CEHAT) was formed from a diverse range of community representatives, including, but not limited community activist, business owners, environmental justice organizations, neighborhood associations, schools, community health centers, civic groups and faith organizations. The CEHAT's tasks include collecting and prioritizing the community's environmental health concerns, and developing and carrying out an action plan to address the concerns that were identified by the City of South Gate community members. Anyone who lives, works, learns and/or plays in this community will enjoy the benefits of this program. For more information, see PACE-EH Fact Sheet(PDF, 202KB).

The momentum the assessment team has gathered in the community continues to this day. With 23 members, CEHAT continues to have monthly meetings and is currently focused on air quality in the City of South Gate. The City’s liaison to the CEHAT team is Management Analyst Victor Ferrer. CEHAT meets regularly the 2nd Monday of every month.

Current Community Initiatives

CEHAT is currently focused on air quality in the City of South Gate. To increase awareness of both indoor and outdoor air quality the following initiatives are in place:

No Idling Campaign(PDF, 329KB)

SG CEHAT is working with California Air Resource Board (CARB) and the City of South Gate in stopping unnecessary idling of heavy-duty commercial vehicles to help improve air quality.

Goals of Program:

  • Educate the community about Idling
  • Encourage the community to report idling violations
  • Identification of idling hot spots
  • "No Idling" sign posting

Flag Program(PDF, 266KB)

CEHAT is working with various schools in the community to notify people about the outdoor air quality conditions by using brightly covered flags based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Air Quality Index.

Goals of Program:

  • Educate school staff, parents, and students on Air Quality classifications
  • Educate school staff, parents, and students on modifications for outdoor activities when air quality classifications are poor
  • Provide training for school staff and students on Flag Program Protocol

Outdoor Air Quality Health Education

CEHAT is working towards creating awareness about outdoor air quality and educating the community on improving the air one breaths, protecting the environment and saving money.

CEHAT have provided the community with air quality sensors to gain a better and more accurate understanding of how air quality changes in the City.

If someone is interested in participating, they must live in the residence until at least July 2019 and provide Wi-Fi to the sensor. Sensors are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Goals of the Program:

* Hold educational course presentations that focus on:

  • Sensitive Populations
  • Causes of Indoor Contamination
  • How to improve Air Quality
  • Meeting cleaning needs with safer alternatives to save money

If you would like to get involved or learn more about this program, please contact:

Nancy Palate (Health Educator, CDPH), Tel: (510) 620-5845, Email
Dr. Gabriele Windgasse (Chief, Site Assessment Section, CDPH), Tel: (510) 620-3610, Email
Victor H. Ferrer (City of South Gate, Management Analyst), Tel: (323) 563-9592, Email