Archive for 2013

  The Oregon Healthy WorkForce Center seeks applications for two Pilot Projects that will expand our portfolio of research on programs that improve occupational health, safety, and personal wellness. A maximum of $50,000 for the first pilot and a maximum of $25,000 for the second pilot is available for a 1-year project beginning in August, 2013. The proposal must address a strategic goal in a NIOSH NORA sector area. For the $50,000 award, the Principal … Read More

Many of us at OHSU have had the opportunity to both mentor young scientists and evaluate their projects at Oregon’s regional and statewide science fairs. We are often amazed at the intellectual sophistication and dedication of these middle and high school-aged students. It is even a greater pleasure for those of us at CROET when the student’s research is completed within CROET laboratories. Kyra Patton, of Beaverton’s Sunset High School, recently presented results of a … Read More

Thursday evening New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Moss spoke to a near-capacity OHSU auditorium audience about the obesity epidemic in the US and the role of food in the development of that dangerous and costly trend. His new book on the subject (Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us) is the headline to this blog.  Among many topics, Mr. Moss described the way in which new processed foods are created through … Read More

Last summer, the Promoting U Through Safety and Health (PUSH) Program developed activities for young workers focused on developing and improving critical skills related to communication, safety on the job and wellness. The scripted activities were originally created to pilot test curriculum for the online PUSH health and safety training with Portland Parks and Recreation’s Aquatics Department employees under the age of 24, but PUSH project staff wondered if these activities would be useful beyond … Read More

What happens when you take 5000 Oregon high school students, sprinkle in dedicated mentors and turn them loose with potential employers and training programs? You get a highly engaging event like this week’s Northwest Youth Expo! OHSU and O[yes] joined other employers and sponsors representing health care, construction and trades, manufacturing, apprentice programs, and, technical and academic colleges at the Oregon Convention Center for this annual event. The Portland Business Alliance, its members and sponsors, … Read More

The Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health conference (GOSH) ran last week at the Oregon Convention Center.  A highlight for many of us attending was the Excellence in Worksite Wellness short course on Thursday shown in the top picture.  About 75 attended the short course to hear Ron Goetzel, the keynote speaker from Emory University and Truven Analytics, discuss the uses of data to evaluate the success of programs and the return on investment of workplace … Read More

Concerned about the hazards of chemical exposures in your workplace, home or other environments? Having difficulty interpreting a chemical Safety Data Sheet (formerly MSDS)? What about that mold growing in the bathroom? CROET’s Toxicology Information Center (TIC) is here to answer these questions and much more. Our goal is to provide up-to-date, unbiased information in a form that is understandable and useful to you. The following is a list of subject areas of interest to … Read More

Don’t wait until the last minute! Join us at the 2013 Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety & Health Conference short course on wellness – Thursday, March 7 at the Oregon Convention Center. Register online and select course # 706 (Excellence in Wellness: Taking your program to the next level). And what can you expect? Learning about what works – networking with others with great ideas. Here’s a few highlights: Keynote presentation Sharing Data and Evidence about … Read More

  NIOSH, OSHA, and California Department of Public Health – all have issued recent alerts on the hazards of using strippers containing methylene chloride when refinishing bathtubs. And yet, just a few weeks ago, another person – this time an Oregonian – died refinishing a bathtub while removing two layers of bathtub coating with the use of Aircraft Stripper. Most chemical strippers, including this one, contain methylene chloride. If you are a chemist, you know … Read More

We always seek feedback from our stakeholders while exhibiting at events. Last week’s Northwest Agriculture Show was no exception. One of the more emotional requests to us as a way to make a difference in safety was a plea to encourage pedestrians and cyclists to become more visible to motorists in the dark. Here in Portland and in many of our neighboring cities, we pride ourselves on how many of us get exercise during our … Read More