Learn about the latest Health Links™ happenings and news below. Have a story to share? Get in touch.
ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work & Environment Director Lee Newman discusses how some areas of the state are doing better than others and are more ready to start to gradually reopen. Eagle County, home to the Vail Ski Resort, he said, has been particularly successful at bending down its curve after an early outbreak.
ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work & Environment Director Lee Newman explains the tension between stay-at-home orders and the need to allow Colorado citizens to return to work. “We don’t have enough tests being done to know how long we need to wait, how long we need to keep the society at the same level as we’re at now in terms of closures."
An estimated 9.6 million American adults suffer from a serious mental illness —that is 1 in 5 adults. Mountain and rural communities, ski towns specifically, have significantly higher rates of suicide compared to the national average.
May 19, 2020—University of Colorado Distinguished Professor Lee Newman, MD and his wife, Lori Szczukowski, MD have committed $1.4 million to establish the Endowed Fund for Worker Health.
May 19, 2020—Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Mike Van Dyke was interviewed by Vox about worker safety when establishments can't control customer behavior.
May 18, 2020—As we try to manage our mental health at home, in small ways plants help us get through this uncertain time.
May 15, 2020—Senior Instructor of Environemental and Occupational Health Lili Tenney was interviewed by The Verge about how to mitigate risk as factories reopen.
May 13, 2020—The Center for Health, Work & Environment is proud to announce the launch of the first-ever, completely online occupational health nursing (OHN) certification examination prep course.
May 6, 2020—How the Center for Health, Work & Environment's Outreach Director Lili Tenney found public health.
May 4, 2020—As part of earning my Master’s in Public Health at the Colorado School of Public Health, I created and performed a sustainability audit of the Center for Health, Work & Environment. Based on the results of my project, I’ve created the following tips for ways academic organizations can decrease their carbon footprint, specifically regarding travel practices.
April 28, 2020—ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work & Environment Director Lee Newman discusses how some areas of the state are doing better than others and are more ready to start to gradually reopen. Eagle County, home to the Vail Ski Resort, he said, has been particularly successful at bending down its curve after an early outbreak.
April 26, 2020—ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work & Environment Director Lee Newman explains the tension between stay-at-home orders and the need to allow Colorado citizens to return to work. “We don’t have enough tests being done to know how long we need to wait, how long we need to keep the society at the same level as we’re at now in terms of closures,” said Newman.
April 8, 2020—A wave of emotions swept over me as I read the University’s notice that we would no longer be able to hold in-person events larger than 75 people due to COVID-19. This news would inevitably threaten the long-anticipated 12th annual Research Day Symposium, an event that the Center for Health, Work & Environment had been planning for an entire year.
April 7, 2020—An estimated 9.6 million American adults suffer from a serious mental illness —that is 1 in 5 adults. Mountain and rural communities, ski towns specifically, have significantly higher rates of suicide compared to the national average.
April 6, 2020—The commercial cannabis industry continues to grow in Colorado and nationwide, demanding the need for a new workforce to be trained in occupational safety and health. Our center offers online training through its continuing education platform and is in the process of developing a more extensive training in the next year.
March 30, 2020—How did Rebecca find her way to the MAP ERC’s OHP program? From a young age, Rebecca knew she wanted a career where she could help people (although the job titles she considered changed on a weekly basis). “I became interested in the field of OSH as a way to improve employees' experiences at work.”
March 17, 2020—Jaime helps lead the Center’s team in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Mexico, using environmental health practices and a Total Worker Health® approach to develop and implement evidence-based, practical solutions to improve the health and well-being of the workers. “I tried to separate environmental and occupational health my whole life,” Jaime said, “but work is just too important.”
March 16, 2020—Professor and CHWE director Lee Newman appeared on CBS4 Denver to explain what exponential growth is and why it could be a huge problem in the context of COVID-19.
March 11, 2020—From universities training professionals in health and safety; to organizations like Health Links™ mentoring employers and workplace champions; to professional organizations adopting principles and marketing them to their members; the interest in TWH is growing.
March 10, 2020—Employers looking to increase employee engagement should first focus on how their organization demonstrates its commitment to TWH through leadership, values, and practices.
March 9, 2020—A new study from the Center for Health, Work and Environment suggests that
February 6, 2020—The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade partnered with the Center for Health, Work & Environment to develop a toolkit to help companies in integrating outdoor recreation into the workplace.
January 14, 2020—Even if businesses have limited resources to devote to safety and health programs, they can still improve the health and safety culture of their organizations.
December 16, 2019—It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Right? The festive spirit is everywhere. But, it can also be the most stressful time of the year.
November 26, 2019—Lee Newman and Liliana Tenney, of the Center for Health, Work & Environment, wrote for NIOSH Science Blogs on the role veterinarians have in combatting opioid abuse in both clients and colleagues.
November 25, 2019—Why are safety trainings for our employees often stiff and uninteresting? Why do trainees struggle to pay attention during them? We need new approaches and tools to increase employee attention and retention in safety training. We need to engage their humanity in our training approach.
November 22, 2019—This event gave special attention to the workplace of the future, bringing together leading scientists and practitioners from around the world to explore the ever-changing nature of work and the implications for the health, safety, and well-being of workers.
November 15, 2019—One in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, yet we’re loath to talk about mental health in the workplace. We’re hesitant to ask for what we need—a flexible work schedule, a mental health day, a check-in with leadership. We don’t want to lose our jobs, be passed up for promotions, be judged by coworkers. The stigma of mental illness keeps us silent. And silence stunts healing.
October 21, 2019—The nature of work as we know it in the U.S. is rapidly changing. The proportion of older workers is growing, the workforce is becoming more diverse, and technology continues to shape and re-shape what we do and how we do it. So how do we begin to predict what the needs are for ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of all workers?
September 27, 2019—Since its launch in 2017, 10 healthcare practitioners have earned a Certificate in Total Worker Health. Their training now allows them to branch out beyond the clinic and advocate for disease prevention for their patients.
September 24, 2019—Eligible employers in Weld County may apply for awards to fund sustainable health and safety improvements to their workplaces.
September 19, 2019—Lee Newman has gone from bench to policy change on the topic of beryllium exposure. Now, his research, mentorship, and role as CHWE director have earned a CU Distinguished Professorship.
August 27, 2019—Colorado ranks ninth in the nation for the highest number of suicides, a number has been steadily increasing since 2009, according to data from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That's why we've released a one-hour self-paced, online course that educates employers and employees about suicide prevention in the workplace.
August 16, 2019—Gov. Jared Polis proclaimed August 15th Total Worker Health® Day. As part of the celebration, Health Links™, based in the Center for Health, Work, and Environment, announced the healthiest places to work in Colorado.
August 15, 2019—Health Links has helped hundreds of organizations and their team members achieve Total Worker Health®. In 2018-2019, the program reached more than 124,000 workers across eight states.
July 15, 2019—Dr. Natalie Schwatka has received a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
July 15, 2019—Governor Jared Polis issued a proclamation recognizing August 15, 2019 as Total Worker Health Day in the state of Colorado.
July 11, 2019—At the 2019 Health Links™ annual event, Celebrating Colorado’s Healthiest Places to Work, Health Links and the Governor’s Council for Active and Healthy Lifestyles will present the Governor’s Award for Worksite Wellness.
July 9, 2019—CHWE researchers created the Health Risk Calculator to help businesses understand the value of the health of their workforce and make the case for investing in it.
June 20, 2019—Adequate hydration is not enough to safeguard farm workers from kidney injury, according to a study published recently in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.
June 20, 2019—Police officers, firefighters, and agricultural workers have a 35 to 45% chance of sustaining repeated work-related injuries in five years, according to a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
June 18, 2019—The bigger the business, the more likely they are to have robust, integrated workplace health and safety policies and practices, according to new research by published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
May 31, 2019—How can leaders balance building successful companies while making sure employees don’t fall prey to occupational fatigue?
May 17, 2019—This year’s Research Day Symposium focused on how researchers and health and safety professionals can better communicate the value of investing in workplace health and safety.
May 10, 2019—CU Anschutz researchers believe climate change may play role in epidemic that has killed thousands of agricultural workers
April 25, 2019—Opioid overdose was responsible for 560 deaths in Colorado in 2017, and ColoradoSPH is active in response.
April 9, 2019—It’s more important now than ever that providers stay up-to-date on prescribing best practices to confidently deliver safe and effective care.
April 4, 2019—Since 2016, our team has been working with Pantaleon, one of the largest agribusinesses in Central America, to learn more about how to support the health of their workforce.
March 1, 2019—Every year, Health Links™ presents awards to organizations and individuals who are leading the way in workplace health and safety in Colorado. Applications for these awards are now open.
January 23, 2019—Lyndsay Krisher, a senior professional research assistant in the Center for Health, Work & Environment, shares an inside look at a day in the life of a researcher studying Total Worker Health® in Guatemala.
January 10, 2019—In the 2017–2018 fiscal year, the Center for Health, Work & Environment reached more than 120,000 workers, awarded $18,000 to small businesses, and trained more than 3,500 professionals in health and safety.
November 7, 2018—Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) Director and Collegium Ramazzini Fellow Lee Newman and CHWE Associate Director for Outreach Lili Tenney traveled to Italy to present their research at an annual gathering of occupational and environmental health experts.
October 4, 2018—Lili Tenney, director of Health Links, announces the program's national expansion and shares a preview of upcoming changes.
August 28, 2018—The Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health awarded six researchers with pilot project grants, made possible by funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
August 22, 2018—Six organizations were recognized for their commitment to improving the health and safety of their workforce at the fifth annual Health Links event, Celebrating Colorado’s Healthiest Places to Work.
August 16, 2018—Health Links has helped hundreds of organizations improve their health and safety culture. In 2017-2018, the program reached 190 organizations and more than 91,000 workers in Colorado.
August 10, 2018—Colorado vets see the opioid epidemic now extending to pets, and ColoradoSPH researchers are looking into who has a dog in the fight.
July 24, 2018—ColoradoSPH course educates Colorado health professionals on best practices.
July 9, 2018—Funds from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment enables Health Links to work closely with the business leaders in Weld County to reach workers in some of the highest risk industries including oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation.
June 8, 2018—Health Links™, a signature program of the Center for Health, Work & Environment, was honored for their work to promote health and safety in workplaces across Colorado by the Tri-County Health Department.
May 18, 2018—Faculty and staff from the Center for Health, Work & Environment attended the 2nd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health® (TWH) hosted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Read more for some of the highlights.
May 15, 2018—Dr. Josh Scott, associate director for education at the Center for Health, Work & Environment, weighs in on the best ways to build employee loyalty and a culture of health and safety.
April 20, 2018—On National Equal Pay Day, April 10, Dr. Stefanie Johnson from the CU Boulder Leeds School of Business shared her insights about gender bias in the workplace and what to do about it.
April 17, 2018—Close to 160 people gathered at the 10th annual Research Day Symposium on April 5 to network and learn about student research in environmental and occupational health.
March 29, 2018—Center for Health, Work & Environment Director Dr. Lee Newman explains why occupational health and safety professionals are turning to a more holistic approach. He also shares how he came to adopt a Total Worker Health philosophy himself.
March 21, 2018—Researchers from Colorado State University and the Center for Health, Work & Environment published a study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine that uncovers new information about the demographics, health and safety knowledge, and workplace concerns of Colorado cannabis workers.
March 16, 2018—Lili Tenney, deputy director of the Center for Health, Work & Environment, talks with Colorado Public Radio about shifting the conversation about workplace wellness towards creating a healthy culture for all employees.
March 8, 2018—The Center for Health, Work & Environment published research in Occupational Health Science that outlines how they are using a new framework for promoting worker health and safety.
February 22, 2018—Occupational and environmental medicine resident Dr. Eric Smith and a group of our faculty and trainees met with policymakers on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
February 21, 2018—Specializing in occupational medicine allows Dr. Keteyian to help others surmount adversity and regain sense of identity.
February 14, 2018—A new study from ColoradoSPH researchers found that these health factors significantly affected women but not men.
February 1, 2018—Applying her research out in the community and working with people are her favorite parts of the job.
February 1, 2018—Lee and his colleagues continued to build the scientific evidence for tougher regulatory standards that keep workers safe.
January 29, 2018—Researchers from the Center for Health, Work & Environment at ColoradoSPH have identified new risk factors of a kidney illness affecting tens of thousands of farm workers worldwide.
January 17, 2018—In the 2016–2017 fiscal year, the Center for Health, Work & Environment launched the first certificate in Total Worker Health® in the country, began a major research study of small businesses in Colorado, administered health screenings to thousands of former Department of Energy site workers and sugarcane workers, and trained more than 2,500 people in workplace health and safety best practices — a 45% increase over the previous year.
December 20, 2017—The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade have partnered with Health Links to strengthen the nexus between business and health in Colorado.
December 1, 2017—ColoradoSPH alumni working in healthcare wanted hospitals to practice what they preach when it comes to junk food – and now some are.
November 10, 2017—Together with NIOSH, we hosted the fourth Understanding Small Enterprises (USE) Conference in downtown Denver last month. The goals of the event were to share knowledge and foster greater collaboration among small businesses and researchers to improve the health and safety of workers in small businesses.
October 9, 2017—Dr. Hans Jørgen Limborg has been involved with coordinating the Understanding Small Enterprises (USE) Conference since its inception eight years ago. As a researcher who has studied worker health and safety in small enterprises for more than 25 years — and as a small business owner himself — Dr. Limborg recognizes the need for researchers and business owners to come together and share their knowledge. We spoke with him about the history and future of the USE Conference and research in this field.
September 19, 2017—Pitkin County, Colorado, is a Certified Healthy Business Partner and one of hundreds of businesses in ColoradoSPH's Health Links™ Healthy Business Network. Health Links works with businesses to build a culture of health and safety in the workplace.
September 19, 2017—“I’m a complex-problem junkie... The kinds of problems that we have to solve in public health, you can’t solve with a pure linear approach,” says Lee Newman, director of the Center for Health, Work & Environment at ColoradoSPH.
August 21, 2017—Liliana Tenney is Deputy Director of the Colorado School of Public Health Center for Health, Work and Environment. But more importantly to The Broadview Denver blog, she's co-founder for Heath Links, a local organization dedicated to making healthy business a priority.
August 17, 2017—Five businesses from across Colorado were recognized for their excellence in workplace health and safety at Health Links’ annual Celebrating Colorado’s Healthiest Places to Work event. Close to 200 leaders and representatives from businesses, nonprofits, and local governments attended the event to celebrate some of Colorado’s healthiest businesses and discuss this year’s event theme — family- friendly, one important aspect of a healthy work culture.
August 14, 2017—Health Links – a program of the ColoradoSPH’s Center for Health, Work & Environment – and the National Behavioral Health Innovation Center co-hosted a training this summer in Frisco, Colorado to help organizations address the effects of mental illness in professional atmospheres.
June 29, 2017—CHWE co-hosted the first safety training designed specifically for marijuana cultivation workers on June 28 with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The training focused on translating recommendations from the CDPHE’s “Guide to Worker Safety and Health in the Marijuana Industry,” the first guide of its kind, into practice.
June 5, 2017—A delayed OSHA rule to protect workers from beryllium, a lightweight metal that can cause an incurable lung disease, may undergo changes that would exclude certain industries from key provisions of the new standard, such as offering medical screenings to workers who have been exposed. Dr. Lee Newman, director of the Center for Health, Work & Environment, has studied beryllium for over 30 years and his research is clear — workers need protections from this toxic metal.
June 5, 2017—Dr. Molly Tran joins the Colorado School of Public Health as the new director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency program and faculty member of the Center for Health, Work & Environment and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.
May 31, 2017—An hour and a half into his first day on the first job of his life, 21-year-old Lawrence Daquan “Day” Davis was killed. The story of his untimely death is the focus of the award-winning film, “A Day’s Work,” recently screened by ColoradoSPH's Center for Health, Work & Environment.
May 31, 2017—A recent bill will direct marijuana taxes to expand opioid abuse programs on CU Anschutz. ColoradoSPH's Center for Health, Work and Environment is involved from a provider and prescriber education front, using a continuing ed program to train practitioners who treat work-related injuries and chronic pain.
May 31, 2017—An hour and a half into his first day on the first job of his life, 21-year-old Lawrence Daquan “Day” Davis was killed. The story of his untimely death is the focus of “A Day’s Work,” an award-winning film that we screened on May 3 at the Tivoli Turnhalle. Increasingly, employers are outsourcing work to temporary workers, freelancers, and other contractors. Sadly, this means more workers are at greater risk of being injured, or even killed, on the job.
March 22, 2017—From understanding how much exercise improves energy to radioactive cleanup in Japan, students share their research at the 9th Annual Research Day Symposium
March 7, 2017—Liliana Tenney, MPH, and colleagues in the ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work, and Environment developed one of the first internet-based classes to teach doctors about alternatives to prescribing opioid painkillers to manage non-cancer chronic pain patients.
March 7, 2017—Rural communities in Colorado have been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. With limited time and resources, doctors in these communities often need additional support. To address this need, the Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) developed an online course that teaches healthcare providers how to help their patients manage pain in a healthy, nonaddictive way. Lili Tenney, deputy director of CHWE and co-chair of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention’s provider education work group, shares her insight.
February 16, 2017—In the first study to examine worker health and safety in the cannabis industry, lead researchers Kevin Walters, a Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) trainee, and Dr. Gwenith Fisher, the director of the MAP ERC occupational health psychology program, surveyed over 200 workers in the Colorado cannabis industry to understand worker demographics, awareness and presence of workplace health and safety issues, and the quality and quantity workplace health and safety training employees receive.
February 13, 2017—A study published in Health Affairs by the Integrated Benefits Institute, ColoradoSPH's Center for Health, Work & Environment, and Segue Consulting found employees with work-related injuries, chronic health conditions, and demanding jobs were significantly less productive, with roughly three times higher lost productivity costs compared to workers without those three indicators.
February 9, 2017—A Guatemalan Sugarcane Company is committed to cultivating a healthy and happy workforce led in collaboration with occupational health and safety expert Dr. Lee Newman.
January 7, 2017—ColoradoSPH Center for Health, Work & Enivornment director Dr. Lee Newman explains the significance of a new federal standard issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers from beryllium, a lightweight metal that can cause an incurable lung disease. OSHA relied on more than 100 papers authored by Dr. Newman and his colleagues to develop the new standard, reducing exposure levels by 10 times.
September 14, 2016—The Center for Health, Work and Environment received $4.7 million from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to become one of six national Centers of Excellence to research the concept of Total Worker Health™.
June 10, 2014—In 2014, the Colorado School of Public Health launched what may be the first statewide effort in the country focused on helping small businesses develop wellness programs in their offices.
© 2018 Health Links
