1. Alliance Background
   
   Date Signed: May 18, 2009
   
   Date Renewed: Not Applicable
   
   Alliance Overview.
   
   HealthWorks is the occupational medicine department the Lehigh Valley Health Network. The Network has expanded in recent years to meet the community's growing and changing health care needs and is made up of three full-service hospitals, community health centers, primary care and specialty physicians, pharmacy and imaging services, home health and hospice services, Careworks retail health clinics, community clinics and Health Network laboratories. Through this Alliance, OSHA and HealthWorks provide Lehigh Valley employers (and employees) with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees' health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing employee injuries and illnesses.
   
   Implementation Team Members.
   
   Scott G. Shimandle, USDOL/OSHA-AAO – Comp. Asst. Specialist (CAS)
   Maureen Farrell, HealthWorks - Marketing and Sales
   Carmine Pellosie, DO., M.P.H., HealthWorks - Executive Director
   


2. Implementation Team Meetings
   
   

   May 18, 2009	Alliance signing at HealthWorks
   June 18, 2009	Safety Peer Group Meeting - PA/OSHA Consultation Program
   Oct. 15, 2009	Safety Peer Group Meeting – Infectious Diseases in the Workplace – H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza
   March 31, 2010	Safety Peer Group Meeting – Employee Evaluation and Treatment of Substance Abuse
   May 5/6, 2010	OSHA 10 Hour for General Industry



3. Activities and Products
   
   Evaluation Period.
   
   May 18, 2009 through May 18, 2010.
   
   Alliance Activity.
   
   
   • Training and Education
     
     Events
     
     June 18, 2009 – An Overview of the PA/OSHA Consultation Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. This presentation was conducted by Cynthia Mellen, CSP, Safety Consultant and discussed the various services that the Consultation Program can offer to employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as it was identified through discussion with HealthWorks that many of their clients are not familiar with the free services. The OSHA 33 Form – Safety and Health Assessment form was discussed in great detail as a tool which can be used by each employer to assess their own safety and health programs.
     
     October 15, 2009 - Infectious Diseases in the Workplace – H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza. This presentation was conducted by Dr. Kevin Vrablik, of HealthWorks. At this meeting, one of the AAO Health Inspectors provided some updated information relative to H1N1 as published by OSHA.
     
     March 31, 2010 – Employee Evaluation and Treatment of Substance Abuse. This presentation was conducted by Thomas C. Vellala, Ed.D., MAC. Drug and alcohol problems affect an employee's ability to be a productive member of the workforce. The employer experiences not only lost productivity expenses, but additional health care expenditures, higher workplace injury costs and increased disability payments as well. Tom Vellela, is a licensed psychologist for Community Psychological Services, as he shares his experience in the evaluation and treatment of employee substance abuse. The presentation focused on recognizing the signs, symptoms and effects of possible substance abuse in the workplace and understand the types of evaluation, treatment and follow-up care involved. At the conclusion of this presentation, the CAS provided an update on currently activities within the Region and fatality information and an upcoming free safety event.
     
     May 5 & 6, 2010 – General Industry OSHA 10 hour Program. This CAS provided assistance in the OSHA 10 hour for General Industry, which was conducted by Al Leitgeb, of A+ Safety Training, LLC. The sessions presented by the AAO CAS included the Introduction of OSHA, Hazard Communication and Machine Guarding.
     
    
   
   • Outreach and Communication
     
     Events
     
     See seminar events listed above.
   
   
   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
     
     No events were conducted to promote the National dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health during this time period. All dialogue has been on a local level.
   Alliance Products
   
   
   • Training and Education
     
     PowerPoint presentations (for the OSHA 10 hour) have been created and/or modified for the specific topics/subject matter/audience listed above. PowerPoint presentations were provided in handout format for note-taking purposes.
   
   
   • Outreach and Communication
     
     As noted above new PowerPoint presentations were developed/modified and used locally.
     
   
   
   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
     
     No products developed at this time.
4. Results
   
   Although the outreach sessions conducted during the first year of this Alliance has not addressed each of the topics proposed in the agreement (OSHA Inspections, Top Violations, OSHA Recordkeeping, Effective Safety and Health Programs and Multi-Employer Worksite Issues), the organizations' Marketing and Sales Department has been soliciting from it's clients, those safety and health issues that are immediate concern, as evidence by the topics listed above (and below). OSHA representation is at all meeting to bring the attendees up to date with what is happening within the Agency and the community as it relates to occupational safety and health. Some of these points of discussion include the top violations and update on interpretations related to recordkeeping issues.
   
   

   Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)	Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
   PA/OSHA Consultation Program	26
   Infectious Diseases in the Workplace	31
   Employee Eval & Treatment	39
   OSHA 10 Hr. for Gen. Industry	17
   TOTAL	113

   
   During this time frame, HealthWorks had attempted to coordinate an Occupational Health Seminar, in which OSHA was going to be part of a panel to discuss bloodborne pathogens, and respiratory protection as it relates to H1N1. However, this seminar did not materialize due to conflicts with schedules and availability of a suitable meeting location.
   
   It should be noted that the relationship with HealthWorks has been extremely worthwhile as HealthWorks has provided outreach services for other OSHA related events. These events include a presentation on the "Safety and Health and the Aging Worker" both for the Allentown OSHA Warehousing and Logistics Partnership and for the Allentown OSHA Alliance with the Lehigh Valley Area Labor Management Council – Lehigh Valley Safety Committee (LVSC) at the 3rd Safety Expo. The presentation focused on the fact that over 25% of the US workforce will be 65 years of age or older – about 30 million workers. Holly Ehrenfried OTR/L CHT, Program Coordinator Industrial Rehabilitation for Lehigh Valley Health Network presented information about the benefits of an older worker, the normal affects of aging, age-related diseases, musculoskeletal aging, common sources of physical stress with aging workers, slips, trips, falls, vision and learning issues.
   
   Additionally, HealthWorks conducted a presentation on "Drug and Alcohol Testing and Awareness". Carmine Pellosie DO, MPH, MBA, Executive Director, HealthWorks; Chief, Section of Occupational Medicine - Lehigh Valley Health Network; Medical Director, Employee Health, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Board Certified Occupational Medicine Physician and Certified Medical Review Officer presented information to educate the attendees at the LVSC Expo that the vast majority of drug users are employed and when they arrive for work, they do not leave their problems at the door. He discussed some of the signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol use, trends in abuse, testing, and workplace issues concerning substance abuse.
   


5. Upcoming Milestones
   
   A planning meeting will be held to discuss future events.
   
   However, it should be noted that at the time of the submission of this report another Safety Peer Group meeting and presentation had already been conducted back on June 16, 2010. The topic: "Employee Assistance Program – More Than Just An Employee Benefit', was presented by Oliver Neith, Program Director of preferred EAP. There were approximately 25 attendees. The next scheduled Safety Peer Group meeting/topic is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2010 and Dr. Mel Cooksey of Abilities Education Technologies will be presenting "All Injuries Are Preventable" – A discussion on accident investigations.
   

Report Prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle, CAS/IH Allentown Area Office.

For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at 202-693-2340 or go to OSHA's Webpage.