First published on May 8, 2020 in observance of the COPH’s 35^th anniversary celebration.

The Sunshine Education and Research Center (Sunshine ERC) located in the USF College of Public Health is one of 18 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) education and research centers across the nation that provides interdisciplinary training of occupational safety and health professionals.

The Sunshine ERC, which was founded in 1997, offers programs collaboratively with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Arts and Sciences and focuses on evidence-based practice and research, continuing education and outreach.

“Over the years this continuing education program evolved into a vehicle to provide low cost opportunities for professional development,” said Dr. Thomas E. Bernard, USF College of Public Health professor and Sunshine ERC center director. “The scope of the center also increased with pilot project research training and more opportunities for interdisciplinary activities.”

According to Bernard, USF COPH’s Drs. Yehia Hammad, Stuart Brooks and Pete Rentos had a vision for starting a NIOSH-supported education and research center that would be the first new center in a decade.

“As funded, the Sunshine ERC was the umbrella for industrial hygiene, occupational medicine and occupational health nursing with a nascent continuing education program. We then added occupational safety and occupational health psychology (OHP)­­—the first ERC to have an OHP program,” he said.

Bernard and Dr. Candance Burns of the College of Nursing, assumed leadership of the Sunshine ERC in 2008.

According to Bernard, with growing support from NIOSH, the Sunshine ERC affiliated with the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), expanded interdisciplinary activities and enhanced outreach into underserved populations.

“This momentum carried us into the current funding cycle with the addition of UCF to support research training directed at the hospitality industry, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a new vision of occupational safety, and programs with UPR in disaster resilience for workers. Further, we now have a supported online program in health, safety and environment,” Bernard said.

The Sunshine ERC focuses on providing training that reflects the needs of key industries in Florida and emerging issues of the nation.

“Students in the Sunshine ERC receive solid training in their chosen field,” Bernard said. “The real value-added is further experience in interdisciplinary activities to better prepare them for the practice of occupational health, safety and wellness.”

Trainees spend time with peers from across disciplines in public health, nursing, and medicine at USF, psychology at USF and UCF, hospitality at UCF, and aviation at Embry-Riddle, according to Bernard.

“Each trainee is enrolled in a degree program within their institution,” Bernard said. “It is the interdisciplinary experience that takes them beyond their specific discipline.”

For example, Bernard explained, trainees are expected to attend one ERC-wide session that provides information of interest to all.

“This varies a little and includes responsible conduct of research, general principles of occupational health, safety and wellness, and team building exercises,” he said.

Trainees are also encouraged to attend national symposiums and also contribute and participate in research projects sponsored by the ERC and its faculty.

Zach Brandes-Powell, a second year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has expanded his experience level as a student. 

“The mentoring and encouragement of the professors and members of the ERC have helped to push me to do things I wouldn’t have thought I was capable of with my current level of experience,” he said.  “For example, through the ERC’s support, I was able to co-present on the benefit of internships for occupational safety and health students and professionals at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE). With their encouragement, I also started to offer to tutor students taking industrial hygiene related courses. These opportunities have helped me to develop skills that will be beneficial to me in life and throughout my career in occupational safety and industrial hygiene.”

Brandes-Powell said going to AIHCE 2019 has been a highlight for him.

“We were able to meet students from ERCs around the country and interact with alumni of the program. The impact that the ERC has on its students was evident as the current students instantly found common ground with the alumni when talking about our courses and projects,” he said.

Miriam Escobar, also a second-year occupational exposure science student in the COPH, said the Sunshine ERC has helped her expand her networking abilities with professionals from other disciplines.  

“Now, I am part of a diversified professional network with a common goal to improve the safety and health of others in various occupational industries,” she said.

She said the highlight of her experience so far has been the ability to participate in the Puerto Rico Resiliency focus group research.

“I was able to travel to Puerto Rico and hear first hand how the hospitality community was not only affected by hurricane Maria but also come together and prevail,” Escobar said.

Currently, the Sunshine ERC is supporting four COVID-19 research projects through its program development fund, according to Bernard, three at USF and one at UCF.

Bernard said that while the Sunshine ERC focuses on students within the ERC disciplines, they have started to also engage students and faculty interested in disaster management.

“If students have an interest they should contact me or Ms. Kelly Freedman and we will see if there is an opportunity with current projects,” he said. “We would welcome and support expenses for some students outside the ERC to participate in interdisciplinary activities.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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The USF Occupational Safety and Health Administration Training Institute Education Center (USF OTIEC) has answered to the need to provide more occupational and safety trainings online in Spanish.

“The USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center provides formal training to help workers understand the hazards that they may encounter in the workplace and, importantly, how to keep themselves safe and how to protect each other,” said Mylene Kellerman, program director of USF OTIEC. “And, we have many Spanish speaking workers in the field, especially in the state of Florida.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a federal regulatory agency. OSHA is part of the United States Department of Labor.  OSHA aims to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards, and by providing training and assistance to ensure that companies are aware of how to help protect workers from injury.

USF OTIEC is based in region four, which is one of the ten OSHA regions in the nation and focuses on the southeastern region of the U.S.  However, the OSHA 10-hour and 30-hour outreach online training courses for the Construction Industry and General Industry are available to anyone located within the U.S., according to Kellerman.

Kellerman said the online trainings focus on training workers about their rights, employer responsibilities, how to file a complaint, as well as how to recognize, abate and prevent job-related hazards.  

“From a public health perspective, it’s about making sure workers are safe and well-trained so that they can go home to their families at the end of the day,” Kellerman said.

For more information about the courses, pricing, and to sign–up for the 10 or 30-hour Outreach Trainings for the Construction Industry and/or General Industry in English and Spanish via USF online training, visit USF OTIEC’s website.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health

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Written by: William Tomlin

The unthinkable has happened – one of your employee’s was injured in a job related accident.  He was taken to local clinic, spent three days away from work, and has now been cleared to return to work with certain restrictions.  What will you do?

You as the safety director most likely would have conducted an immediate accident investigation  to seek the root cause of the incident, and to determine  what conditions, procedures, or possibly employee negligence lead the accident to occur. If conditions at the site of the injury lead to the accident, you would have evaluated the work station, reviewed the lifting procedures and looked for any other safety hazards.

You then recorded the injury on your OSHA 300 log as a case involving both lost time away from work and restricted work activity, as well as having entered the number of days recommended by the physician or other licensed health care professional on the log.

OSHA states, “Workplaces with active safety and health leadership have fewer injuries, are often rated “better places to work,” and have more satisfied, more productive employees. These employees return to work more quickly after an injury or illness and produce higher-quality products and services”.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “Employers should design a policy that speaks to the organization’s commitment to encourage employees to return back to work quickly after an injury. They can explain to employees the negative consequences of being out of work such as the reduction or loss in wages”.

An ‘return to work’ program includes temporary light, limited, and modified duty assignments. Temporary light duty typically involves excusing an employee from performing certain tasks that he or she would normally perform. Limited duty may reduce the number of hours that someone normally works in a day. Modified duty may eliminate some tasks and replace them with others that are more suitable for the employee’s physical limitations in the employee’s normal position.

The best approach for developing a return to work program is to conduct a review, similar to that of a job safety analysis (JSA) for each job title. The analysis would determine the physical requirements necessary to do the job. It should document how much weight must be lifted, how far that weight must be carried, and the range of hand, arm and body motions needed to complete the task associated with the job title. When the injured worker is cleared to return to work, he or she should have the list of limitations from the physician. The safety director would then determine if the injured employee’s limitation(s) can be done in that job class.

An alternative for employers to consider is creating a bank of limited duty positions (e.g., positions involving administrative duties) on which to draw from when an employee is returning to work with limitations. A simple way to create such a bank of duties is to ask employees currently in the position what they would do if they had more time. Managers and supervisors should participate in creating the job bank of light duties. Duties should be meaningful and add value to the organization. Assigning duties that are viewed as punishment could cause employees to not report injuries so as to avoid these types of tasks.

A light-duty bank can include the following assignments:

• Administrative work (e.g., filing, handling mail, answering phones, data entry, shredding)
• Safety-related tasks (e.g., safety inspection such as checking fire extinguishers, updating safety data sheets, extension cord inspections )
• Ordering and stocking supplies (e.g., first aid, office supplies)
• Shipping and packaging duties
• Providing training to others, if qualified
• Completing any needed training to comply with OSHA program or for professional development

Employers should communicate the organization’s light duty program to their new-hire during the orientation process. Creating a light duty program is part of the Total Worker Health program developed under the CDC guidelines.

Still uncertain about conducting a JSA, or simply have questions on how to implement a safety and health management system? Contact USF SafetyFlorida today! In addition to helping employers identify and correct specific hazards, USF SafetyFlorida provides FREE onsite assistance in developing and implementing effective workplace safety and health management systems that emphasize the prevention of worker injuries and illnesses. Call now to schedule you FREE and confidential Consultation at 1-866-273-1105 or www.usfsafetyflorida.com.

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On April 28, the University of South Florida College of Public Health joins the nation to recognize Workers’ Memorial Day—a national observance honoring workers who have died in the workplace due to unsafe working conditions.

Join local government and safety advocates for the commemoration from 3 to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 28, at the City of Temple Terrace, Council Chambers, 11250 N. 56^th Street, Temple Terrace, FL 33617. The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit https://safetyflorida.wufoo.com/forms/z2hfgze1ymj1bm/

Each year nearly 5,000 workers suffer injuries, contract illnesses from overexposure to chemicals and harmful substances, or worse, are killed from on-the-job hazards and unsafe practices.

To raise awareness of the issues affecting America’s workforce, the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program and USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center are collaborating to host the Workers’ Memorial Day Event to evoke change and advocate for better and safer workplaces.

The program includes reading the names of Florida’s fallen workers followed by a moment of silence and candlelight memorial.

“We can do more about workplace deaths,” said USF SafetyFlorida Program Director Charlene Sitterly. “Recommit yourself and your company to holding workplace safety as a core value.”

USF SafetyFlorida is the state’s official small business safety and health consultation program funded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation. The not-for-profit program operates out of the USF College of Public Health and provides free and confidential workplace safety consultations to private sector businesses.

In observance of the Workers’ Memorial Day, the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program and USF OSHA Training Institute Education offer the following free training opportunities: OSHA 7115 – Lockout/Tagout, OSHA 7400 – Noise Hazards in Construction Industry, OSHA 7410 – Managing Excavation Hazards, 7505 – Introduction to Accident Investigation and OSHA 7845 – Recordkeeping Seminar.  For additional information and to register, visit http://www.usfsafetyflorida.com/site/Resources/Safety-Training/Workers-Memorial-Day-2016.

Employers interested in receiving a free and confidential consultation visit may contact the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program toll-free at (866) 273-1105, or visit www.usfsafetyflorida.com.

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The USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center will be delivering occupational safety and health training at the FNU Hialeah Campus, starting August 2015.

Miami, FL (June 19, 2015)—The USF OTIEC has established the host partnership with FNU because of its commitment to serving the South Florida community and its mission to contribute to the educational process to the diverse population.

“This is a great partnership. The collaboration between these two universities was established with our students in mind,” stated Jose Alonso, social media and marketing representative at FNU. “As a team, we support this mission and we are glad to see this proposal come to fruition.”

The key objective of the host partnership is for USF OTIEC to expand the distribution of courses that cover OSHA standards and Outreach Training Program, including topics such as record keeping, machine guarding, confined space entry, electrical standards, ergonomics, and fall arrest systems as well to reach workers who have limited knowledge of English.

The schedule and locations will be announced in the coming weeks. For additional information please visit http://usfoticenter.org/.

About USF OTIEC:
The USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center provides courses to train workers in the various aspects of Safety and Health. The training includes job hazard recognition as well as OSHA standards, policies and procedures for persons responsible for enforcing or directly supporting the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. The job Hazard training and Communication aims to benefit workers by reducing confusion about physical and chemical hazards in the workplace, and improving understanding of these hazards, especially for low literacy workers

About FNU:
Florida National University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Florida National University.

 Reposted from PRWeb

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Students at Seminole Ridge High School’s Weitz Academy of Construction will soon be able to earn safety training certificates from the University of South Florida OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center, thanks to a new partnership between the schools.

While Academy of Construction students have for the past decade received OSHA’s 10-hour and 30-hour training, this new partnership with USF’s OTI Education Center will give students more access to advanced coursework in construction safety and some of the highest certifications available through OSHA. USF’s OTI Education Center is authorized by OSHA to deliver occupational safety and health training to public and private sector works, supervisors and employers.

Instructors from the USF OTI Education Center will donate more than 70 hours of training time to work with Construction Academy students, who will earn a certificate from the center once they’ve successfully completed the program.

Patricia Damas from USF’s OSHA Training Institute Education Center instructing Weitz Academy of Construction students on the proper way to use and wear a safety harness.

“The OSHA curriculum benefits my students in numerous ways,” said Rick Terkovich, a certified OSHA instructor who teaches at the Weitz Academy of Construction. “This program teaches teenagers how to work safely. In the 10 years that we have been teaching this program, I have had many employers tell me that one of the reasons they hire my kids is because they have OSHA training.”

The USF OTI Education Center selected Seminole Ridge and its Weitz Academy of Construction for this new partnership because of the school’s commitment to training its students in how to work safely in construction.

“It is a known fact that young workers are especially at risk of becoming injured while on the job, primarily due to lack of training and knowledge,” said Keila Ashman, assistant director of USF’s OTI Education Center. “Safety begins with our youth. The USF OTI Education Center recognizes the importance of keeping youth safe by providing them with the resources, skills, knowledge and education necessary to avoid workplace hazards, while also preparing them for the workforce. We are looking forward to this exciting partnership.”

The College of Public Health is the academic home for USF’s OTI Education Center. Read the full story from the School District of Palm Beach County.

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Two nationally-recognized programs within the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health are teaming up once again to provide relevant training programs during the 67^th Annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference and 24^th Annual Safety and Health Conference. The event takes place on August 19-23, 2012, at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla.

Event coordinators expect the conference to draw more than 350 exhibitors and speakers, and approximately 7,000 attendees including risk managers, regulators, safety professionals, health care providers, adjusters, insurance professionals, attorneys, medical case managers, professional employer organizations, temporary staffing, mediators and medical office administrators.

The USF OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Center and Sunshine Education and Research Center (SERC) will work together for the seventh consecutive year to bring conference attendees programming that addresses their common mission for increased workplace safety. This collaborative effort results in the following programs: the OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Course; Cutting Edge Occupational Health Issues: NIOSH and Beyond; two breakouts on workplace safety; and a two-day NIOSH ERC Regional Seminar.

Since 2010, two additional Education and Research Centers (ERC) joined in organizing the NIOSH ERC Regional Seminar emphasizing the application of academic research in safety to the practice of members of the workforce. This partnership includes the University of Alabama Deep South ERC and the University of North Carolina ERC.

For more information about the Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference and the Safety and Health Conference, please visit http://www.wci360.com/conference/speakers.

About the USF OTI Education Center

OTI Education Centers are a national network of non-profit organizations authorized by OSHA to deliver occupational safety and health training to public and private sector workers, supervisors, and employers on behalf of OSHA. The USF OTI Education Center has been delivering occupational safety and health training in construction and general industry since 2003, and it has expanded training to the maritime industry and disaster site work. For more information, please visit http://usfoticenter.org/.

About Sunshine ERC

Education and Research Centers are funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to promote graduate training and research related to occupational health and safety. As one of 17 ERCs in the nation, the Sunshine ERC focuses on training professionals on how to treat and prevent occupational illnesses, why illness occur in the workplace and how to make the workplace a safer environment. For more information, please visit http://www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/erc/.

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