Learn about the latest Health Links™ happenings and news below. Have a story to share? Get in touch.
“We heard from stakeholders representing workforces and employers across the state that supporting employees in recovery is a top priority,” said Lili Tenney, DrPH, director of outreach and programs at CHWE. “Our goal is to build capacity and positive change led by the voice of Colorado businesses and workers.”
For many companies, this December will be the first time since 2019 that employees will come together for an in-person holiday party. More employees may be dealing with alcohol addiction than in years past. Employers should be mindful of employees who are in recovery or trying to cut back on their alcohol consumption.
While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, David Shapiro summarizes the future of TWH training programs and the distinctions between each which help serve different trainees and industries.
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In our Alumni Spotlight series highlighting our graduated MAP ERC trainees, we interviewed Janalee McKnight, an ergonomics and safety graduate working as the Senior Manager, Global Health and Safety Training Programs at VF Corporation.
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Now in its tenth year, the MAP ERC Interdisciplinary Course follows a field consultation format allowing students to develop specific occupational health and safety assessment, leadership, and communication skills. We asked our current trainees about the impact this course has had on their educational journey.
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While doing a preliminary assessment for environmental health hazards for the agriculture workforce in Southern Colorado, researcher Kathy James was redirected. Her community partners sounded an alarm for a behavioral health crisis in the Ag community.
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One of the many ways we work to protect workers is through educating and training future leaders in occupational safety and health. As part of our Student Spotlight series highlighting our trainees, we interviewed Phillip Stepherson, a Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center trainee earning a Master's in Industrial Hygiene from Colorado State University.
The study, led by Kathy James, ColoradoSPH associate professor, focuses on arsenic in private drinking wells in San Luis Valley groundwater, which she says has been gradually increasing in drinking wells over the past 50 years.
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Centers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are partnering with state leaders and employers to help employees in recovery through the Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative.
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Researchers from the ColoradoSPH received a $3 million research grant from the NIH. The R01 grant will assess Guatemalan womens’ exposure to air pollution, heat, and kidney toxins in both work and non-work settings.
Oil and gas extraction workers face many risk factors for workplace substance use. These include insecure employment, long work hours, fatigue, physically demanding work conditions and environment. While hosting and attending the NORA Oil & Gas Extraction Council 2023 Spring Health and Safety Summit, Cortney Cuff summarizes two days of impactful presentations.
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If you are looking for Stephen Brindley, MS, the lab might be the only place you find him sitting. 15,900 steps a day. 111,400 steps a week. 200 miles a month. Brindley is on the move. Working as a senior professional research assistant, Brindley is a sought after “lab guy.”
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Our center released the Total Worker Health Professional Program six months ago and have since wondered, what has been the impact of this course? How are our learners using their knowledge to create change in the workplace?
With a recent series of methamphetamine contamination cases at Colorado public libraries making the news nationally, Colorado School of Public Health expert Mike Van Dyke provides context on the public health risk.
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The Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center and the Environmental and Occupational Health Department of the Colorado School of Public Health hosted its 14th Annual Research Day Symposium. What are we taking away from that event? Hope.
The newly-established Mountain West Alliance for Community Engagement-Climate and Health (ACE-CH) Hub, led by ColoradoSPH researchers, has been awarded $600,000 from the National Institutes of Health to identify evidence-based and community-driven action in the face of the climate crisis.
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While on rotations as a medical resident at National Jewish Health, Maggie Cook-Shimanek was instantly attracted to a model of clinical care dedicated to the workforce. Read more about her journey to working an occupational health physician working as the medical director for the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
“We heard from stakeholders representing workforces and employers across the state that supporting employees in recovery is a top priority,” said Lili Tenney, DrPH, director of outreach and programs at CHWE. “Our goal is to build capacity and positive change led by the voice of Colorado businesses and workers.”
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One of the many ways we work to protect workers is through educating and training future leaders in occupational safety and health. As part of our Student Spotlight series highlighting our trainees, we interviewed Colton Castro, a Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center trainee earning a Master's in Environmental Health with a specialization in Industrial Hygiene from Colorado State University.
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Lili Tenney, DrPH, Assistant Professor and Director of Outreach and Programs at our center, discusses the rise in Colorado workplace fatalities, mental health struggles, and opioid abuse in the Denver Business Journal.
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As a senior professional research assistant and doctorate in public health candidate at the Colorado School of Public Health, Macaluso explores the relationships between issues such as drought and heavy metals exposure in her research projects in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado.
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For many companies, this December will be the first time since 2019 that employees will come together for an in-person holiday party. More employees may be dealing with alcohol addiction than in years past. Employers should be mindful of employees who are in recovery or trying to cut back on their alcohol consumption.
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Increasingly hotter temperatures indoors and out can also amplify existing injuries and illnesses for workers with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, David Shapiro summarizes a session on the climate crisis and its impacts on outdoor workers.
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There is a mental health epidemic going on in the construction industry. People working in construction are nearly 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, David Shapiro summarizes a session on suicide in the construction industry.
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One of the many ways we work to protect workers is through educating and training future leaders in occupational safety and health. As part of our Student Spotlight series highlighting our trainees, we interviewed Julia Beckel, MS, a Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center trainee earning a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University.
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While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, David Shapiro summarizes a session on power at work and its intersection with the TWH approach.
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Our Center recently hosted 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, in Bethesda, MD at the NIH Campus. The four-day conference hosted students, working professionals, researchers, and academics from diverse backgrounds and workplaces, united in their pursuit of improving health, safety and well-being for the global workforce.
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While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, David Shapiro summarizes the future of TWH training programs and the distinctions between each which help serve different trainees and industries.
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While attending and presenting at the 3rd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health®, Natalie Schwatka, PhD, explored what research, practice and education look like in the field of occupational health and safety. She walked away thinking about not only how important all three are, but how can we integrate them better? The answer to her question was listening.
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The pride of the MAP ERC is the hands-on, real world experiences we offer students through training and site-visits. Last week, trainees from our Health Physics program had a private tour of the USGS TRIGA Reactor in Lakewood, CO.
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Type 2 diabetes continues to be a leading chronic disease in the United States, affecting 1 in 10 adults and is a serious issue for employers and employees alike. In response to providing employers with the tools to support employees, Health Links™, a program based at the Center for Health, Work & Environment, has developed and hosted trainings and education forums, provided technical assistance through advising sessions, and performed outreach activities over the past three years to address the negative impact of chronic disease in the workplace.
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In the newest installment of our Alumni Spotlight series highlighting our graduated trainees, we interviewed Angie Dartt, director of chemical safety at Washington University in St. Louis. Dartt is a graduate from the MAP ERC's industrial hygiene program who is seriously passionate about occupational safety and health.
The Society will serve as a hub and community for sharing new and innovative ideas to expand Total Worker Health (TWH) research, training, education, dissemination, and real-world solutions.
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Emily Sharpe works full time as the Living Well Program Director at TIAA, along with serving as mayor of her town, Elon, North Carolina. See why she chose to earn a Certificate in Total Worker Health from the Colorado School of Public Health.
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Each year, Health Links celebrates Colorado employers committed to workplace health, safety, and well-being. This year’s in-person event aptly honored the award winners and finalists for their achievements in the workplace while providing attendees the opportunity to network and gain inspiration from other employers.
The three-year study out of the Center for Health, Work & Environment is the first known human health risk assessment to evaluate the large number of heavy metals that may be present in cannabis flower, concentrates and vape devices.
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A red orange sun glows behind the clouds of smoke rising over the smoldering field. The smell is slightly sweet, but heavy. A cheerful school bus waits beside acres of burnt sugarcane. Dr. Lee Newman sits behind a table of lab samples near the bus. He and his research team are working to determine the causes and factors of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu) among Guatemalan sugarcane workers – one of many complex problems that attract him.
On July 21st, the Center for Health, Work & Environment hosted its third annual partner awards ceremony to honor the commitment and achievements of some of its key partners.
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This month Health Links celebrates its 10-year anniversary. As an established program that serves communities throughout Colorado and nationally, Health Links has been a resource employers rely upon for a decade. What started as a group of local consultants training business leaders across Colorado, Health Links is now a nationally trusted advisor for a growing network of organizations committed to keeping their employees healthy, safe and well.
To address the staggering increase in substance-use, mental health needs, and substance-related deaths, The Center for Health, Work & Environment launched the Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative. The project works with partners and employers to create workplaces that support workers struggling with substance use and addiction.
Public water can have low or undetectable levels of elemental or chemical impurities like metals, pharmaceuticals, household products, disinfectant byproducts, PFAS, and hardness, according to Associate Professor Katherine James.
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As part of the Center for Health, Work & Environment's Student Spotlight series highlighting our trainees, we interviewed Karely Villareal Hernandez, a first-generation student earning a Master's in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health.
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In the newest installment of our Alumni Spotlight series highlighting our graduated trainees, we interviewed Dr. Kevin Walters, an assistant professor of psychology at Fort Lewis College. Walters is a graduate from the MAP ERC's organizational health psychology program and works to empower others to apply psychology to improve their own lives and communities.
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Encore Electric, a leading electrical contractor in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, checks all the boxes. Its workforce checks all the boxes for what the CDC considers to be the highest risk individuals for suicide and mental health issues. Males working in construction between the ages of 16-64 years old.
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For many, mental health feels like a private, personal issue. Why bring it up in the workplace? CHWE’s approach to mental health awareness and support is rooted in the understanding that employers have an immense opportunity to impact the mental health of their employees.
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Researchers from the Center for Health, Work & Environment have completed their first year of data collection for two research grants with agricultural workers in rural Guatemala. The research grants entail three research projects that will span across the next three to five years.
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Most of us are familiar with the concept of micro ergonomics – where machines, the environment, software, and work activities interact with humans. But Natalie Schwatka, PhD, prefers to zoom out a bit further. In her research and graduate instruction, she explores macro ergonomics – specifically how leadership impacts the workplace.
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We don’t often talk about return on investment (or ROI) in academics. We focus on expanding the fields of research, making new discoveries, building capacity, actualizing theories, and engaging communities and individuals in programs. But this past week, the Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center and the Environmental and Occupational Health Department of the Colorado School of Public Health, saw a return on the investment it’s made in people – their trainees specifically.
Going back into the office can feel overwhelming. Lili Tenney, assistant professor and associate director for outreach and programs for the Center for Health, Work & Environment, discusses how workers and employers are facing this new normal.
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Trainees from our Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) recently took an old-school field trip to Fort Carson Army Base. These types of practical, unique learning opportunities are available in abundance to MAP ERC trainees. Each of the center’s six occupational safety and health graduate programs place great importance on interdisciplinary education and first-hand experiences. Our programs prioritize helping students understand and encounter the roles they could have (or work closely with) after graduation.
With 90% of Coloradans immune to Omicron and the state transitioning to an endemic response plan, COVID-19 restrictions are more relaxed than ever. Despite this positive news, public health experts recommend remaining adaptable due to the ever changing nature of the pandemic.
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The Great Resignation and the pandemic have created historic labor shortages. Everyone is trying to do more with less, in many cases while still working remotely. How can you avoid burnout? Here are some strategies for you and your team.
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Our center stands on three pillars: Research, Education, and Practice. One of the many ways we strive to protect workers is by educating and training future leaders in occupational health and safety. To kick off our Alumni Spotlight series highlighting our graduated trainees, we interviewed Silpa Krefft, a pulmonary and critical care physician and researcher specializing in occupational and environmental lung diseases.
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