Occupational Medicine in Time of Crisis

Homeland security requires protection of the essential infrastructure that provides and delivers goods and services that supply on-going needs and that maintain the economy. Protecting the workforce, senior managers, and essential personnel is essential, not only to preserve critical industries but to maintain business continuity to prevent severe and prolonged economic disruption. Most large employers have an under-utilized resource available for this purpose. This is the occupational health service, which already serves many compatible functions and houses personnel with many of the requisite skills. Occupational medicine specialists, occupational health nurses, and industrial hygienists have special training on chemical, biological, physical and psychological hazards in the workplace that translate readily to homeland security applications. Developing emergency management capacity within the occupational health service builds on its traditional role in disaster planning and derives a dual benefit from the investment. The leadership organizations in the three professions have taken the lead in developing the Occupational Health and Disaster Expert Network (OHDEN), an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) -based network for this purpose.