Environmental Health Training EHTP

Connecticut Department of Public Health logoCo-sponsored by the Southern Connecticut State University Department of Public Health and the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Endorsed by:

  • The Connecticut Association of Directors of Health
  • The Connecticut Environmental Health Association
  • The Connecticut Public Health Association

General Information for Spring 2024 Environmental Health Training Program

The EHTP is a workforce development program, co-sponsored by the Southern Connecticut State University Department of Public Health and the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The program consists of three modules: Food Protection, Sewage Disposal, and General Environmental Health Topics.

All Topic Segments will be given synchronously online via Zoom. "Synchronous" means that during scheduled class meetings, participants must be signed in to live, online sessions with cameras turned on and faces visible. You are expected to participate fully in online class sessions. To do so, you will not be able to conduct other business during class time (such as working, emailing, texting, and browsing). All exams will be in-person/on-ground for each section.

2024 Dates and Times for the Three Course Segments

Please note: Should weather conditions disable our ability to meet on campus or to transmit the online portion of the course, a canceled class will be held on the Friday of the same week at the usual time.

Food Protection

  • Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, January 17, 2024 - February 21, 2024 **SYNCHRONOUSLY ONLINE via Zoom**
  • Exam on February 21, 2024, at 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM **ON-GROUND/IN-PERSON**

Sewage Disposal

  • Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, February 28, 2024 - April 10, 2024 **SYNCHRONOUSLY ONLINE via ZOOM**
  • Exam on April 10, 2024, at 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM **ON-GROUND/IN-PERSON**

General Topics

  • Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM, April 17, 2024 -May 15, 2024, **SYNCHRONOUSLY ONLINE VIA ZOOM**
  • No Final Exam

Program Costs

Cost Course Segments
$500.00 Full Course (Food Protection, Sewage Disposal, & General Topics)
$350.00 Food Protection and Sewage Disposal Segments Only
$175.00 Food Protection Segment Only
$175.00 Sewage Disposal Segment Only
$150.00 General Topics Segment Only
$325.00 General Topics and either a) Food Protection or b) Sewage Disposal

Please note: Registration and payment are accomplished separately, as described below. Register first, then pay the course fee.

Registration

To register for this program, visit the State of Connecticut’s CT Train website. Search for "Environmental Health Training Program" and make sure you locate the 2024 offerings. You must register for each desired segment of the course separately. (For example, if you want to take the full course, you will register three times; once for Food, once for Sewage, and once for General Topics.) See more detailed instructions for registering and making payments. .

How to Pay

After you register for your desired course segments at CT Train, visit the SCSU Marketplace site to make your payment. Click on “Public Health Workshops” and the payment options will appear. Have your credit card handy: under current pandemic conditions we will not be able to accept checks.

Following receipt of your payment, confirmation will be posted on CT Train as approval of your registration(s).

Program Q&A

The EHTP course is designed to help prepare and train sanitarians, including those presently and aspiring to be employed in local health departments, in a variety of areas important to the field of environmental health. Topics covered in this course include, but are not limited to, food sanitation, sub-surface sewage disposal, and general environmental health topics such as lead, water, and asbestos.

In addition to greatly increasing one's knowledge in the area of environmental health, successful completion of the course:

  • makes those aspiring to work in the field more marketable for entering the workforce,
  • reduces the amount of time an individual must be employed in a health department before sitting for the Registered Sanitarian (R.S.) exam by six months, from two years to 18 months, and
  • qualifies Certified Health Education Specialists for a total of 9 CHES continuing education credits—3 for each completed segment of the course.

The EHTP course is designed to meet the needs of its students. Therefore, the entire course or any combination of the three sections offered can be taken. Again, the three sections are Food Sanitation, Sewage Disposal, and General Environmental Health Topics.

Completing the Food Protection portion of the course is the first step towards food inspector certification. The course will provide students with basic knowledge that will prepare them for when they do become employed by a local health department and are then eligible to begin the formal food inspector certification process. The course also provides those interested in a food protection career path with an introduction to other aspects of the subject.  Successful completion of the Food Protection Training course also makes those aspiring to work in the field more marketable for entering the workforce. The course focuses on the current Connecticut regulations that inspectors will enforce once certified.

Public health professionals—regulators, microbiologists, and epidemiologists—will present critical topics, such as foodborne pathogens, outbreak investigations, how to conduct an inspection, enforcement, ethics, and the new food inspector certification process. Successful completion of this course is required for those interested in becoming certified and provides the foundation of knowledge necessary to continue the certification process.

In addition to those interested in pursuing food inspector certification, others may find the course beneficial. Directors of Health who are not certified and food industry personnel may find the course helpful in gaining a better understanding of the FDA Food Code and the food establishment inspection process.

The steps to become a Certified Food Inspector in Connecticut are:

  1. become employed by a local health department in Connecticut;
  2. complete Phase 1 certification training provided by this Environmental Health Training Program
  3. complete field standardization with the Connecticut Department of Public Health Food Protection Program Field Standardization Officer; and
  4. receive certification from the Commissioner of Health.

Please note:  While anyone can take the Food Protection course, candidates for food inspector certification must possess a bachelor's degree and be employed by a local health department. In lieu of the education requirement, three years of experience in a regulatory food protection program, acceptable to the Connecticut Department of Public Health Food Protection Program, may be approved. Candidates for field certification shall not be involved in the ownership or management of a food establishment located within their jurisdiction. Please call the Connecticut Department of Public Health Food Protection Program at (860) 509-7396 if you have any questions regarding the Food Protection module of the EHTP or the food inspector certification process.

Successful completion of the Sewage Disposal portion of this course shall meet the requirements for Phase 1 Certification by the Connecticut Department of Public Health for those employed in local health departments. 

Those not employed by a local health department may complete the whole course or selected parts and sit for respective exams. Sewage certification and credit for the food sanitation classroom requirement become active for you when you are hired by a local health department and the health director makes a request to the Connecticut Department of Public Health. 

The Connecticut Department of Public Health specifically picked Southern as the site to offer the EHTP course. Such a comprehensive offering is not found anywhere else in Connecticut. 

Register as soon as possible. Space is limited. 

After registering for the course, you should quickly pay for the course fee as directed on CT TRAIN. Upon receiving your registration, we will post your confirmation on CT Train and will also include the exact location of the sessions, directions, and practical information on other topics including parking. 

Contact Information

Questions regarding the Environmental Health Training Program should be referred to:

Mytzi Campbell, Program Assistant
Department of Public Health
Southern Connecticut State University
Email: ehtp@southernct.edu 

Questions regarding the Food Sanitation portion of the course should be referred to:

Connecticut Department of Public Health
Cynthia Costa
(860) 509-7396
cynthia.costa@ct.gov

Questions regarding the Sewage Disposal portion of the course should be referred to:

Connecticut Department of Public Health
Amanda Clark
(860) 509-7368
Email: amanda.clark@ct.gov

All other questions should be referred to:

Department of Public Health
Southern Connecticut State University
Email: ehtp@southernct.edu