Creating safe work environments

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Victor Ortiz
  • 22nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KAN. --  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in America during 2010, 3.1 million people suffered a nonfatal workplace injury or illness. These preventable tragedies have the potential to disable workers, causing devastation to families and the Air Force mission.

Each day at McConnell, the 22nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron remains dedicated to keeping employees across the base safe and healthy. This interdisciplinary team of medical professionals is composed of six flights: bioenvironmental engineering, public health, flight medicine, optometry, dental and the health and wellness center.

Bioenvironmental engineering identifies and controls a wide range of workplace health risks, from noise and chemical exposures to thermal, radiation and biological hazards.
 
Public health assists in ensuring that individuals receive the appropriate occupational health medical examinations and education based on the risks associated with their jobs and also administers audiograms.

Flight medicine, optometry and dental perform multiple physical and visual exams and medical histories, targeting medical surveillance based on the occupational exposures of the worker.

Additionally, flight medicine attends to the unique medical needs of the flying population.

Lastly, the health and wellness center assists workers in maintaining their physical and dietary fitness an integral part of employee health.

What is unique about this squadron is that each flight has specific responsibilities for the Occupational Health Program, but ultimately operates jointly in nature in support of the program.
 
A "Team Aerospace" approach is used to perform shop visits in which all areas of the industrial environment and worker health are assessed by bioenvironmental engineering, public health and flight medicine.

The Aerospace Medicine Council, Grounding Management Working Group, and Occupational and Environmental Health Working Group also include all flights to ensure a well-rounded approach to address any potential risks and proposed mitigation or surveillance plans.

Collectively, the team members of the 22nd AMDS work hard to detect and resolve potential health issues before they negatively impact the workforce, ensuring McConnell continues to have a safe work environment.