ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

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Senior Accepted into Summer Public Health Scholars Program at Columbia University

An Eastern Kentucky University senior has been accepted into the Summer Public Health Scholars Program at Columbia University, the prestigious Ivy League institution in New York City.

Stephanie Smith, a public health major from Barbourville, will take field trips to various neighborhoods in and around The Big Apple to observe public health interventions and programs in operation. She will also attend lecture-based courses and work in small groups with teaching assistants to discuss practical applications of class studies.

Before heading to New York, she will attend a one-week orientation at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Smith will spend the following nine weeks based at the Columbia University Medical Center. All expenses are covered by the program.

“I am most excited about gaining hands-on experience in the field of public health,” the 2009 Knox Central High School graduate said. “With our competitive job market now, this experience will set me apart from other potential employees. I will have the opportunity to learn from some of the most prestigious public health leaders and network with people who could open other doors for my career.”

Smith, the daughter of Darrell and Lynn Smith and granddaughter of Patty and Russell Smith, was recently named the Outstanding Senior in Community Health at Eastern. She maintains a 3.4 GPA in addition to her active role in the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, in which she has held several leadership positions. Smith also represented the Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Society on EKU’s Homecoming Court last fall.

“The ‘Eastern Experience’ has given me the opportunity to grow as a person,” Smith said. “I feel accomplished to have almost four years of undergraduate school under my belt. My family has always been so understanding and supportive of my experience while at EKU and … my drive for success has come from the desire to make them proud. I am so thankful to have had the chance to spend my college career at a university I love.”

Smith also credited faculty in the Department of Health Promotion and Administration for that growth.

“(They) have all made a huge impact on the success of my college career,” she said. “Laurie Larkin, Karen Hunter and Michelyn Bhandari have always provided me with encouragement and support to excel in public health. I could not be more thankful to have them as mentors.”

After the summer program, Smith plans to return to EKU to begin studies in the University’s Master’s of Public Health Program toward her goal of working with an international health agency.

For now, though, her heart and mind are on the upcoming summer in one of the world’s greatest cities, a place she has never visited.

“I am looking forward to experiencing what it is like to live in the city and in such a diverse part of our country,” Smith said. “I already have a countdown set, and I can’t wait to take full advantage of the amazing experiences I will have.”

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ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

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Second Senior Selected for Columbia University Summer Public Health Scholars Program

A second Eastern Kentucky University senior has been accepted into the Summer Public Health Scholars Program at Columbia University, the prestigious Ivy League institution in New York City.

Brittney Jones, a public health major from Corbin, joins Stephanie Smith, a senior public health major from Barbourville.

Jones will take field trips to various neighborhoods in and around The Big Apple to observe public health interventions and programs in operation. She will also attend lecture-based courses and work in small groups with teaching assistants to discuss practical applications of class studies.

Before heading to New York, she will attend a one-week orientation at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Jones will spend the following nine weeks based at the Columbia University Medical Center. All expenses are covered by the program.

“This will give me hands-on experience in the field of public health and will hopefully open the doors for many other opportunities across the U.S. or the world,” she said

Jones, the daughter of Amy Webb and Randall Jones, is a 2009 graduate of Corbin High School. Named last year as EKU’s Outstanding Junior in Community Health, she maintains an overall GPA of 3.54, is a member of Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Society and the secretary of the campus chapter of the Kentucky Public Health Association. She will graduate this December.

"Being at Eastern has given me so many opportunities,” Jones said. “I’ve become a part of student organizations and met so many amazing people. All the professors in the department want us to achieve the highest goals possible.” She credited Dr. Michelyn Bhandari, in particular, for pointing her to the Columbia Scholars Program.

Jones said she is uncertain of her career plans, adding they might include working for the CDC or, for a time, as a Peace Corps volunteer.

For now, though, she’s looking forward to what promises to be a memorable summer.

"I’ve never been to New York City,” she said, “but I’ve wanted to go forever.”

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Hear from GRH pharmacist at Health Speaker Series

V. Andrew Rudolph, D.P.

March 11, 2013
LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) - V. Andrew Rudolph, D.P., will be the next presenter for the EOU Health Speaker Series Thursday, March 14. Students and community members are invited to attend the free presentation at 6 p.m. in Badgley Hall, Room 102.

A staff pharmacist at Grande Ronde Hospital since 2011, Dr. Rudolph has a passion for teaching and advancing pharmacy practice through innovative practice models. His professional interests include solid organ transplant, infectious disease and improving the continuity of care between inpatient and outpatient settings.  

Dr. Rudolph completed his doctor of pharmacy at Pacific University in Hillsboro and his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University.

The speaker series is made possible by EOU and the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center with the goal of providing students interested in pursuing healthcare careers the opportunity to hear first-hand experiences from members of the area medical community. The series will continue through spring term with one presentation each month. 

For more information visit www.eou.edu/prepro or contact Kimberly Mueller, EOU’s pre-professional health liaison, at 541-962-3070.

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Health Care Discussion

SPOKANE, Wash. - Eastern Washington University will host local business and health care leaders for a day of dynamic discussion on how the insurance mandate and health care reform will impact the Inland Northwest community. The Health Care Management Conference will take place 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24, at the Phase 1 building at EWU Spokane on the Riverpoint Campus.

In just two years, health care reform will extend coverage to nearly 30 million uninsured people. The federal government, through the Institute of Medicine, is laying out guidelines for deciding what to include in the new "essential benefits package," and how to keep it affordable for small businesses and taxpayers. About 68 million currently insured will ultimately be affected by the new benefit package.

This conference will bring together health care professionals, business owners and insurers to discuss how the insurance mandate will affect our community. The conference will include an overview of the insurance mandate, an update on the Washington Health Care Authority's Exchange and a presentation on the Beacon Community project. This will be a valuable discussion for insurers, human resource professionals, business owners, health care professionals and students.

The conference offers continuing education units (fee $20 payable to EWU) for nursing home administrators and other health care professionals through Eastern Washington University.

For questions, contact: Rose Morgan at rmorgan@ewu.edu or 509.828.1218. The event is sponsored by the EWU Health Services Administration Student Organization, with financial support from the EWU School of Social Work and the Center on Aging.

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Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Assist Field Practitioners with One-of-a-Kind Book

It’s not just students who benefit from the expertise of Eastern Kentucky University’s Environmental Health Sciences faculty.

Four professors in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences – Joe Beck, Darryl Barnett, Worley Johnson and Sheila Pressley – recently completed the second edition of “Fundamentals of Environmental Health Field Practice,” a one-of-a-kind book intended to assist the field practitioner in the completion of his or her job.

The idea for the book started taking shape in 1998 when the EKU faculty members were involved in providing training to the Indian Health Service section of the United States Public Health Service for environmental health skills enhancement for Native Americans tribes, Beck explained.

“At that time a small manual was available through the Government printing office that had been developed by the Senior Corps officers of the Public Health Service,” he said. “The director indicated to us that funds were no longer available for the printing of this manual and that it would have to be discontinued due to its cost. We offered to rewrite the manual and enhance it considerably and make it available for both the use of the United States Public Health Service and civilian environmental health agencies.”

At that time, the manual was approximately 150 pages long and out of date in many content areas. The redeveloped manual, referred to as the “Fundamentals of Environmental Health Field Practice,” included more than 400 pages and offered guidance to environmental health practitioners on procedural steps for inspections, up-to-date information on microbiology and epidemiology, and all the required tables, images and topics that face most field practitioners.

“The first edition was primarily a test to gauge acceptance of the book,” Beck noted. “The second edition will be made available to all field practitioners throughout the United States. The text will likely also be used for several classes in the accredited environmental health programs across the country. EKU's Department of Environmental Health's undergraduate program is nationally ranked at the top with employers from throughout the nation seeking its graduates.”

The latest edition of the book may be purchased through Barnes & Noble Bookstore, the National Environmental Health Association and Amazon.com, and is available in both hard copy and in e-book format.

Royalties from the book, a culmination of approximately six years of work, have been signed over to the American Academy of Sanitarians for the development of environmental health scholarships.

The same team of authors, with the addition of EKU Environmental Health Sciences faculty members Dr. Carolyn Harvey and Dr. Gary Brown, also wrote the “Healthy Housing Reference Manual,” the official publication on housing for the U.S. Agency on Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for Disease Control, is available for free online at www.cdc.gov/nceh/publications/books/housing/housing.htm. Interested parties can also contact the agencies for any hard copies that might be available.

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Health Care in Spokane

  "Health Care in Spokane: the good news"
Free Public Forum - Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. - Spokane Convention Center

Spokane, Wash.-Noted journalist and author T.R. Reid returns to Spokane to lead a panel of local, regional and national health care experts in a discussion on how to improve the delivery of health care to our own communities by providing affordable and accessible care for everyone.

Sponsored by Providence Health Care and Eastern Washington University, this public forum is an extension of the important conversation begun last year, when international news correspondent and filmmaker T.R. Reid talked about his PBS documentary and book. Both offered an in-depth comparison of how health care in America differs dramatically from systems in other countries. His book, The Healing of America, critiqued how many countries around the world are able to provide cost-efficient health care to everyone.

When he returns Nov. 13, Reid will discuss his latest PBS documentary, U.S. Health Care: the good news, which examines what communities in the U.S. are doing right. He will then lead local and national health care leaders in a panel discussion about how to create a health care system that's based on quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Panelists include Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality; Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner; Paul Sherman, MD, MHA, executive medical director, Group Health; Mike Wilson, chief executive; Providence Health Care; Peg Hopkins, chief executive, Community Health Association of Spokane; and Karen Feltes, senior vice president of human resources, Avista Corp.

"Eastern is excited to partner once again with Providence to have this important health care discussion," says EWU President Rodolfo Arévalo. "EWU, with its Health Services Administration program at Riverpoint, wants to offer students a chance to connect with the Spokane medical community and learn about these important health issues."

"A well-functioning health care delivery system impacts every part of our community, and designing that system must focus on affordable, efficient, quality care," says Mike Wilson, PHC chief executive. "This community forum serves as a catalyst for additional conversation and helps identify long-term solutions."

Doors open at 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be available. Program begins promptly at 5:30 p.m.

####

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ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

View the original article here

Read More

ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

View the original article here

Read More

ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

View the original article here

Read More

Health Care in Spokane

  "Health Care in Spokane: the good news"
Free Public Forum - Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. - Spokane Convention Center

Spokane, Wash.-Noted journalist and author T.R. Reid returns to Spokane to lead a panel of local, regional and national health care experts in a discussion on how to improve the delivery of health care to our own communities by providing affordable and accessible care for everyone.

Sponsored by Providence Health Care and Eastern Washington University, this public forum is an extension of the important conversation begun last year, when international news correspondent and filmmaker T.R. Reid talked about his PBS documentary and book. Both offered an in-depth comparison of how health care in America differs dramatically from systems in other countries. His book, The Healing of America, critiqued how many countries around the world are able to provide cost-efficient health care to everyone.

When he returns Nov. 13, Reid will discuss his latest PBS documentary, U.S. Health Care: the good news, which examines what communities in the U.S. are doing right. He will then lead local and national health care leaders in a panel discussion about how to create a health care system that's based on quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Panelists include Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality; Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner; Paul Sherman, MD, MHA, executive medical director, Group Health; Mike Wilson, chief executive; Providence Health Care; Peg Hopkins, chief executive, Community Health Association of Spokane; and Karen Feltes, senior vice president of human resources, Avista Corp.

"Eastern is excited to partner once again with Providence to have this important health care discussion," says EWU President Rodolfo Arévalo. "EWU, with its Health Services Administration program at Riverpoint, wants to offer students a chance to connect with the Spokane medical community and learn about these important health issues."

"A well-functioning health care delivery system impacts every part of our community, and designing that system must focus on affordable, efficient, quality care," says Mike Wilson, PHC chief executive. "This community forum serves as a catalyst for additional conversation and helps identify long-term solutions."

Doors open at 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be available. Program begins promptly at 5:30 p.m.

####

View the original article here

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ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

View the original article here

Read More

ECU EARNS CERTIFIED HEALTHY CAMPUS STATUS BY OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)

East Central University has been selected as a Certified Healthy Campus by the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

There are three levels of certification: basic, merit and excellence. ECU received merit certification with the help of its new tobacco-free campus policy.

“I’m very proud to be part of a campus which promotes health and wellness,” said Holli Witherington, executive director of East Central University’s Brandon Whitten Institute.

ECU Vice-President for Student Development Dr. Jerry Forbes also serves as the campus’ Tobacco Free Task Force Director.

Six standards make the certification possible including: integration with the learning mission of higher education, collaborative practice, cultural competence, theory based practice, evidence based practice and professional development and service.

- # # # -

View the original article here

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Modelling Occupational Inhalation Exposure to Concentration Peaks of Chemicals and Associated Health Risk Assessment

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Renaud Persoons1,2,*, Anne Maitre1,2 and Dominique J. Bicout1,3

1Environment and Health Prediction in Population Unit, Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité (TIMC) Laboratory Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 5525 Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France

2Occupational and Environmental Toxicology Unit, Biochemistry Toxicology Pharmacology Department, Biology and Pathology Institute, Grenoble Teaching Hospital, 38043 Grenoble, France

3Biomathematics and Epidemiology Unit, VetAgro Sup, Veterinary Campus of Lyon, 69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France ?* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +33 476637506; fax: +33 476637502; e-mail: RPersoons{at}chu-grenoble.fr Received July 1, 2011. Accepted February 10, 2012. Objectives: The aims of this study were to estimate inhalation exposure to chemicals and the resulting acute health risks for working scenarios characterized by successive peaks of pollutant concentrations.

Methods: A stochastic two-zone model combining a time-varying emission function and field-derived probabilistic distributed input parameter was used to predict both instantaneous and 15-min averaged pollutant concentrations during the decanting operations performed in a pathology laboratory. The location of the workers was taken into account in the model for computing probability distributions of inhalation exposures and for subsequently characterizing hazard quotients (HQ) for health risk purposes. The model was assessed by comparison with repeated individual monitoring performed on the workers during the same tasks.

Results: Modelled inhalation exposure profiles revealed 15-min average concentrations of 1.7 and 208 mg m- 3 for formaldehyde (FA) and toluene (TOL), respectively. The individual monitoring performed showed similar average concentrations, with 1.2 and 175 mg m- 3 for FA and TOL. No more than three to five successive FA concentration peaks were generally sufficient in the modelling exercise to provide 15-min estimated exposures exceeding short-term exposure limits (STEL). Modelled HQ higher than unity and STEL exceedance probabilities higher than 0.5 were found for FA, whereas estimated TOL health risks were notably lower according to high exposure limits. Estimated inhalation exposure distributions frequently ranged over one order of magnitude for the two pollutants, reflecting both the natural exposure variability and the uncertainty of some of the two-zone model input parameters.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that the developed approach may be useful for modelling occupational exposures and acute health risks related to chemicals in situations involving time-varying emission sources. Modelled exposure distributions may also be used within Bayesian decision analysis frameworks for making exposure judgements and refining risk management measures.

© The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society [2012]This ArticleAnn Occup Hyg (2012) 56 (8): 934-947. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/mes021 First published online: May 4, 2012 Current Issue

Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.

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