Idaho National Laboratory Occupational Medicine Program honored as best in North America
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Idaho National Laboratory Occupational Medicine Program within the Environment, Safety, Health and Quality Directorate has been notified that INL is the recipient of the 2017 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Corporate Health Achievement Award (CHAA). The INL OMP submitted a comprehensive application about the program and underwent a rigorous review by an expert panel to assess four key categories: leadership & management, healthy workers, healthy environment, and healthy organization.
CHAA is the occupational medicine specialty’s most prestigious award and is intended to bring national and international attention to that company’s model organization. The INL OMP is the first within the Department of Energy complex to receive this award and only the second within the federal government.
Carol Mascareñas, ESH&Q director, said the award is a reflection of the laboratory’s commitment to the health and safety of its employees. “Only organizations with exceptional health and safety practices are considered for this award,” she said. The recipient of the annual award is judged on the strength of its health and safety programs for individual employees, programs to protect the environment, leadership and management practices, and efforts to create an overall work culture that stresses healthy lifestyles along with safety consciousness.
ACOEM is the nation’s largest medical society dedicated to promoting the health of workers through preventive medicine and wellness, clinical care, disability management, research and education. The organization established the CHAA award to formally recognize the finest workplace health and safety program in North America.
“We’re grateful to receive this distinctive honor,” said Dr. Stewart Curtis, the INL site occupational medicine director. “The award not only recognizes the work that the OMP has accomplished, but the seamless integration of all the services offered within the ESH&Q Directorate.”
Research on the financial performance of the past 17 CHAA recipients showed that engaging in a comprehensive effort to promote wellness, manage the health of a workforce, and mitigate the complications of chronic illness and injuries produces remarkable impacts on health care costs, productivity and performance, and revealed that these previous award winners had a significant competitive financial advantage in the marketplace.
