Robert W. Amler, M.D., M.B.A., left, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Practice and vice president for government affairs, briefed New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, M.D., J.D., right, in Albany on September 1, on recent achievements in reducing rates of childhood asthma and other environmentally-triggered illnesses. Working last year under a recent State grant, NYMC's Children's Environmental Health Center of the Hudson Valley performed more than 100 individualized consultations for families faced with environmental issues, delivered 24 continuing education programs for health care providers throughout the region, and sponsored preceptorships for several local physicians who learned about advances in asthma management in primary care settings. The briefing was held with principals from several other facilities, representing the statewide network of environmental health centers. The Center, directed by Allen J. Dozor, M.D., professor of pediatrics and clinical public health, and chief, pediatric pulmonology, allergy & sleep medicine, is a joint venture of NYMC and the physicians at the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, with nine outreach offices throughout the Hudson Valley.