This summer I’ve been working with Chelan-Douglas Health District as an Environmental Health Specialist intern. I’ve spent most of my time working with the Environmental Health Specialists that are a part of the onsite division. Their responsibilities include evaluating soil types to ensure that the proper septic tank is being installed in order to avoid a septic failure.

My main project this summer was to inspect pools in the Chelan-Douglas Counties following WAC 246-230. With routine inspections, I verified the pool chemistry ensuring that the pH and the chlorine levels are within the range that the state of Washington has established to be safe. One of the skills that were very helpful was being bilingual and having the ability to communicate clearly to pool operators who spoke Spanish. Clear communication is very important in order to ensure the violations get corrected.

I also had the opportunity to work along with food inspectors and was trained to deal with the difficulties of initiating conversations regarding personal health information. Working with the inspectors I became more comfortable reaching out to people who possibly got sick from a food venue. Having been trained by the food inspectors has made me comfortable in conducting surveys that may seem uncomfortable due to the type of questions. Having various mentors made going out to do fieldwork easy since I was trained well.

To read more about Jovanny’s internship, click here.