Advancing Workforce Health at the Department of Homeland Security Protecting Those Who Protect Us (2014) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 21-42
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 21... ...
Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
|
From page 22... ...
. Although human capital offices often play a critical role in the administration of workforce health protection programs, human resources personnel lack the medical and public health expertise necessary to guide the development of a coordinated health infrastructure.
|
From page 23... ...
. High injury and illness rates have resulted in significant workers' compensation costs for DHS, as shown in Table 1-2, which presents annual chargeback totals4 for DHS component agencies for 2010.
|
From page 24... ...
Secret Service 6,821 143 2.1 47 0.69 0 DHS Other 7,604 565 7.43 120 1.58 0 Department of Justice 116,910 4,517 3.86 2,563 2.19 2 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 4,847 171 3.53 49 1.01 1 Explosives Bureau of Prisons 38,055 2,558 6.72 1,760 4.62 1 Drug Enforcement Administration 9,757 287 2.94 76 0.78 0 Federal Bureau of Investigation 35,776 932 2.61 447 1.25 0 U.S. Marshals Service 5,754 412 7.16 140 2.43 0
|
From page 25... ...
SOURCE: Data extracted from Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration Federal Agency Programs website in February 2013 (OSHA, 2013)
|
From page 26... ...
In fiscal year 2011, the actuarial liability for DHS -- the projected amount that DHS would have to reimburse the Department of Labor to cover all previously existing cases to resolution if the agency ceased to exist today -- surpassed $2 billion.5 These costs represent a significant diversion of resources that might otherwise be devoted to achieving DHS's mission. Concerns about DHS's current health protection systems and programs are further raised by the perceptions of the workforce regarding the health and safety aspects of working conditions, as captured in recent results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.6 In 2012, only 62 percent of DHS em 5 E-mail communication, Department of Homeland Security, response to IOM inquiry regarding department statistics: Chargeback totals and actuarial liability, February 13, 2013.
|
From page 27... ...
Data for the Coast Guard are not depicted because of difficulties in obtaining an accurate estimate of the size of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act–eligible workforce for that agency. CBP = Customs and Border Protection; FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency; ICE = Immigration and Customs Enforcement; TSA = Transportation Security Administration; USCIS = U.S.
|
From page 28... ...
• Emergency room visits to address medical needs for detainees exceeded $12 million in fiscal year 2011, indicating that operational medicine programs are not adequately addressing the needs of those in DHS care or custody. STUDY CHARGE AND SCOPE Seeking strategic advice on how to strengthen mission readiness and protect the DHS workforce, OHA asked the IOM to review and assess the agency's current occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure and, based on models and best practices from within and outside DHS, to provide recommendations for achieving an integrated, DHS-wide health protection infrastructure with the necessary centralized oversight authority (see Box 1-2 for the committee's complete statement of task)
|
From page 29... ...
Specifically, the committee will • Review and assess DHS's current occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure. • Explore the occupational health and operational medicine infrastructures established in other relevant federal agencies and organizations.
|
From page 30... ...
Office of Personnel Management on legal and regulatory issues relating to medical evaluation and clearance programs, and a representative from Federal Occupational Health7 presented on the outsourced occupational health services that agency provides to other federal agencies. In June 2013, the committee held a 2-day workshop at which it heard from experts representing DHS, other federal agencies, and private industry on occupational medicine, workers' compensation programs, occupational safety and health, medical standards and clearance programs, operational medicine, and DHS's Medical Liaison Officer Program.
|
From page 31... ...
The question lists (which can be found in Appendix D) were provided to component agency program managers, who were asked to submit written responses.10 The committee used the responses received in reviewing and assessing the current occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure at DHS, as described in Chapter 4 and throughout the report.
|
From page 32... ...
Specifically, the committee will • Explore existing tools for improved workforce resilience, including a re view of employer resilience programs which includes, but not exclusively, military and law enforcement. o Assess current policies, programs, activities, and resources that address employee resilience across DHS.
|
From page 33... ...
Within this report, these organizations are highlighted as case studies, each of which provides a detailed description of the organization's approach and the benefits realized through integration, including the potential for cost savings when such information was available. Study Challenges and Limitations Despite its best efforts to conduct a thorough assessment of the current DHS occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure, the committee experienced difficulties during its information-gathering process, including • variability in responses to the committee's question lists, resulting in uneven levels of information on component health protection programs; and • lack of access to some relevant information (e.g., policies, medical standards, business cases)
|
From page 34... ...
Guided by these assumptions, the committee investigated the coherence and comprehensiveness of the health protection system within DHS, paying close attention to the existence of related initiatives and their effect on the health of the department's employees. TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS REPORT For purposes of this report, the committee considers that DHS consists of seven operating component agencies (Federal Emergency Management Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, U.S.
|
From page 35... ...
For example, the Federal Air Marshal Service is a subcomponent agency within the Transportation Security Administration. Myriad terms can be used to classify the activities that encompass employee health promotion and protection efforts.
|
From page 36... ...
The definition highlights the importance of prevention of injury and illness due to working conditions and other adverse health factors, health promotion, and the development of an organizational culture that values such practices. For the purposes of this report, the term occupational health encompasses occupational safety and health (including safety, industrial hygiene, and ergonomics)
|
From page 37... ...
. Operational Medicine For purposes of this report, operational medicine is defined as preventive and responsive medical and health support services provided outside of conventional workplaces during routine, planned, and contingency operations to employees and others under an organization's control.13 13 This definition of operational medicine was adapted from that used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
|
From page 38... ...
Occupational medicine and occupational safety and health can be seen as subsets of the activities that fall within the broader category of occupational health, with significant overlap between them. As discussed above, while the primary focus of operational medicine programs generally is protection of the operational workforce, medical support services also are provided as needed to allied law enforcement officers, subjects in custody, and other third parties who find themselves Medical care provided to nonworkforce personnel during operations FIGURE 1-2 Relationship among occupational health, occupational medicine, and operational medicine.
|
From page 39... ...
In acknowledgment of these needs, the committee defines workforce health protection broadly as the full scope of occupational health and operational medicine activities carried out to sustain and protect the health and effectiveness of deployable forces and members of the workforce exposed to nontraditional environments. This definition does not exclude nonoperational members of the workforce; the effectiveness of the operational workforce is dependent on those who perform critical support functions.
|
From page 40... ...
Chapter 4 describes the current occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure within DHS, including both gaps and best practices. Chapters 5 through 8 present the committee's recommendations, organized according to four elements the committee identified as essential to successful integration of workforce health programs.
|
From page 41... ...
Presentation at IOM Committee on DHS Occupational Health and Operational Medicine Infrastructure: Meeting 1, March 5, Washington, DC.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.