Project boosts health literacy for local populations
The Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), based at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, collaborated in 2024 with local organizations in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, to support the reopening of La Marquesa Forest Park, a lush forest reserve spanning approximately 600 acres. The team partnered with Gredia Huerta-Montañez, MD—an Adjunct Professor at Mount Sinai, pediatrician, and consultant for the Puerto Rican Department of Health—to develop Spanish-language materials for educational outreach and community engagement aimed at local families.
The materials focused on two key public health priorities: hurricane emergency preparedness and dengue fever—an acute viral illness transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Puerto Rico reported 6,291 dengue cases in 2024, surpassing the epidemic threshold and prompting the declaration of a local public health emergency. In response, the Puerto Rico team collaborated closely with the Mount Sinai PEHSU to design and implement a series of outdoor educational stations at La Marquesa Forest Park, which now serve as permanent fixtures for public health outreach and community education.
The park had been closed since 2017 following Hurricanes Irma and María, and successfully reopened in February 2025.
The Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) is a Center of Excellence at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai serving New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It provides education and guidance to health professionals, communities, and families on ways they can prevent, identify, treat, and reduce exposure to environmental hazards to improve reproductive and children’s health outcomes. Learn more.
Mount Sinai Project Team Members:
- Perry Sheffield, MD, MPH, Professor, Departments of Environmental Medicine and Pediatrics
- Gredia Huerta-Montañez, MD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine
- Cassandra Bernardi, MPH, Program Manager, PEHSU Region 2
- Nadya Y. Rivera Rivera, MPH, Coordinator, PEHSU Region 2
- Valeria Menéndez Rosas, MPH, Program Coordinator, Department of Environmental Medicine