Boston, MA November 6, 2013 - Sharon Beard an Industrial Hygienist in the Worker Education and Training Program of the Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institute of Health (NIH) in Research Triangle Park, NC received the American Public Health Association (APHA) Kerr Award at their 141st annual meeting in Boston, MA. The Kerr Award is named in honor of Lorin Kerr (1909-1991) a life-long activist who served for over 40 years as a physician for the United Mine Workers. He was dedicated to improving access to health care for coal miners and other workers and to obtaining compensation for and preventing black lung disease. The award recognizes a younger activist for their sustained and outstanding efforts and dedication to improve the lives of workers.

   Congratulations to Sharon for her dedication and hard work in protecting the lives of workers.

Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators, environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions. More information is available at www.apha.org.

   The New England Consortium (TNEC) has worked with the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) to provide health and safety training to municipal employees throughout Massachusetts over the past five years. Through this association TNEC has trained hundreds of municipal workers who otherwise may go without training due to budget constraints with their respective towns. At a recent training in Wilbraham, MA two TNEC trainers, Thomas Estabrook and Bridget McGuiness provided confined space training to workers.

   In a short letter to the trainers, Lin Chabra, MIIA Membership and Training Coordintor wrote, "Through the training they (municipal workers) learned the skills that would take them from planning, to permitting, to entering, to monitoring and to exiting a Confined Space safely....I know I might not extend my thanks as often as I should. Just wanted to let you know we continue to appreciate all your efforts on behalf of our members as both of our organizations try to make municipal work places safer." Tonya Basch, Assistant DPW Director/Engineer with Wilbraham Department of Public Works also wrote, "Thank you for making this training successful.  I think it went extremely well, the guys were very receptive."

   MIIA is the non-profit insurance arm of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA), insuring over 400 cities, towns, and other public entities in Massachusetts. MIIA's mission is to provide superior insurance products and risk management solutions at competitive rates to its members. Our products include Health, Property & Casualty and Workers' Compensation insurance. Our member services include a tremendous choice of wellness, loss control and training opportunities. MIIA is a member-driven organization.

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  Mike Fitts, ConnectiCOSH and Neil Hawley, Western MassCOSH provided the training for TNEC's October 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Personnel Basic Health and Safety Course along with UML trainer Tom Estabrook.  This five day course features simulated work tasks and mock incidents so students gain a better understanding of work site hazards and how to properly respond in an emergency situation.   

   A field engineer who took the training commented on his evaluation, "I enjoyed the course.  I liked that there were multiple trainers that each taught from their background. The personal experience stories were interesting and helped add to the material.  I also enjoyed the variety of teaching methods - discussion, read and share, simulations, etc.  I expected to be half-asleep through the entire course, but I very rarely felt that way here.  You guys kept it interesting but still taught the material effectively.  I think it was especially useful to see and touch the air monitoring equipment, the respiratory equipment and to wear the suits. This class exceeded my expectations and I had fun! Thank you."  

   This is why we do it!  

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