1 / 14

Health & Safety Professions: What Can We Do To Shape Our Futures ?

Health & Safety Professions: What Can We Do To Shape Our Futures ? . Manuel R. Gomez, DrPH, MS, CIH Northern CA Local Section, 11/12/03 . My Goals Tonight. Review some trends: What has been happening? How have we responded? How have our societies responded? Conclusions: Where we need to go.

kylia
Download Presentation

Health & Safety Professions: What Can We Do To Shape Our Futures ?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Health & Safety Professions:What Can We Do To Shape Our Futures? Manuel R. Gomez, DrPH, MS, CIH Northern CA Local Section, 11/12/03

  2. My Goals Tonight • Review some trends: What has been happening? • How have we responded? • How have our societies responded? • Conclusions: Where we need to go

  3. Fact: Costs of Injury and Illness • 1992: 6K deaths; 60K illnesses; • Cost: $155B ($52B direct, $104B indirect) • Injuries 85%, illnesses 15% • Workers’ comp only pays 27%: workers, you and I pay the rest. • Costs are 3% of GNP = 5X aids, 3X Alzheimer’s, > arthritis, same as cancer, 82% of circulatory (heart & stroke). • Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, U. Michigan Press, 2001 (J.P.Leigh, S. Markowitz, M. Fahs, P. Landrigan).

  4. Cost Facts, Continued • Reality Check: Liberty Mutual Study, 2000 (Direct Costs only, only >6 days off) = $46B • My point: Order of magnitude, not details • Do we get as much attention as cardiovascular? Where is the outrage?

  5. Brief History of Outrage • Gauley Tunnel-Silicosis • MSHAct: Farmington mine disaster, 78 deaths. • OSHAct: Steeply rising injury/illness rates (1961-70 = 29%) • EPA: Cuyahooga River on fire • Asbestos: Incurable disease, clear links, Johns Manville scandals • Lead (children, not workers) • Mold?

  6. Trends, Continued • Environmental issue grew, got more attention; • IH lines blurred & merged with environmental; • Downsizing era: cutback & outsourcing/globalization • Conservative political climate: less regulation & public service, more greed

  7. Association Membership Trends(When Did OSHA, Asbestos, Lead Come Along?)

  8. How Have We Responded? • Weakening of public health core and focus • Unrealistic hopes for “safety pays” • Safety often doesn’t, illness prevention rarely • “Compliance reliance” but wrong response: OSHA & NIOSH bashing; • Unjustified Complacency (big problems solved?!) • Largely missed major developments: • Ergo, IAQ, risk and exposure assessment, chemical toxicity issues (e.g., HPV, REACH), global standard activities

  9. How Have Societies Responded? • Abandonment of public health mission:guild vs public service models. Do they protect workers or “serve the professions”? • Insufficient attention to mega-trends & big developments; looked at trees, forgot forest; • Tried to be businesses vs operating in a business-like manner to pursue core mission (chased the quick buck?) • Tunnel vision: destructive competition, splintering.

  10. What Should We Do? • Return to core business: public health & worker protection • Anticipate & take on strategic issues: • Toxic chemicals (HPV, REACH) & OELs • Management systems • Process controls vs. hazard by hazard • Stress & psychosocial issues • Corporate social responsibility • Corporate performance disclosure • Tri-partite approaches • Global standardization, especially European

  11. International Standards—A Sidebar • Jeffrey Immelt, GE Chief Executive, Wall St. Journal, April 23, 2002: “Almost 99% of regulation will come from the EU over time.” • We can’t ignore this major trend, must become part of it • It’s money & trade; money talks

  12. What Should We Do? • Support strong regulatory & research agencies. They are necessary but not sufficient. Our membership numbers don’t lie. • Support standards (regulatory and strong voluntary consensus): Send costs where they belong • Break “welfare”dependency on OSHA (go beyond compliance, continual improvement). • Abandon “small business can’t do it” mantra—it’s a copout. That’s where challenge lies.

  13. What Should We Do? • Don’t put all our bets on “safety pays” • Promote more consensus • We don’t know it all, or know best; • Not just the “experts,” but all parties, not just those we like (labor, business, government, political leaders, other disciplines) • Emphasize tripartite approaches.

  14. What Should We Do? • Demand that our societies collaborate(federate? merge?!?) • Work together to generate OUTRAGE • Costs to society are high; • Pain and suffering are high

More Related