Occupational Health Assurance

Purpose

The Occupational Health Assurance Program (OHAP) provides medical monitoring for Virginia Tech employees whose job duties present specific, potential health risks. The monitoring performed helps the university assure that the controls that are being used to reduce employee exposure to these health risks are actually working as intended. This is accomplished by verifying that employees are not showing medical signs or symptoms of exposure. The program also provides necessary vaccinations and titers for individuals who have substantial animal contact or work with infectious agents including bloodborne pathogens. Finally, OHAP supports university compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, Centers for Disease Control standards, and other authorities requiring medical surveillance.

Application

Employees whose job duties present specific, potential health risks are provided medical examinations, medical tests, and immunizations and titers as required by regulation or standards. These services are provided at no cost to the employee. Employees are allowed to participate during normal work hours, whenever possible.

Scope

Employees that meet one or more of the program's Entrance Criteria, as outlined in this document, are provided services under this program.

Environmental Health & Safety:

• Coordinates the Occupational Health Assurance Program at Virginia Tech;
• Provides or coordinates all medical monitoring and medical services for covered employees;
• Maintains records according to OSHA requirements; and,
• Provides exposure monitoring and evaluations to determine if employees are being exposed above legal limits that would make it necessary for them to participate in this program.

Departments are expected to:

• Assure supervisors know to communicate personnel changes such as new hires, terminations, and role changes to Environmental Health & Safety by calling 540-231-3998 or by sending an email to ehsmedserv@vt.edu. If the new hire will need medical services, please have him or her complete the medical survey form;
• Implement recommendations of Environmental Health & Safety monitoring and corrective action reports;
• Support supervisors with providing employees time away from work to attend scheduled appointments for medical tests and physician evaluations;
• Reimburse Environmental Health & Safety for missed physician appointments; and,
• Request exposure monitoring services, as needed.

Supervisors/principal investigators are expected to:

• Notify Environmental Health & Safety before  an employee that participated in medical surveillance leaves the position either through retirement, transfer, or role change;
• Promptly notify Environmental Health & Safety when a new employee is hired into a position that historically participated in medical surveillance, and assures medical services are provided before the employee is exposed to the hazardous condition;
• Implement recommendations of Environmental Health & Safety monitoring and corrective action reports.
• Assure employees keep scheduled appointments for medical tests and physician evaluations;
• Assure new employees are provided proper training on work practices and procedures necessary to reduce exposure to hazards requiring medical surveillance; and,
• Request exposure monitoring services, when a suspect overexposure condition exists, by calling 540-231-5985.
• Assure persons who work with animals have also reviewed the Occupational Safety and Health Program for Animal Handlers.  Students who are not in an 'employee-like' role will not be provided medical services, but will be fit tested by EHS if respiratory protection is required for their work.  Please contact the EHS Occupational Health Clinic at ehsmedserv@vt.edu for assistance. Students need to also review the information found on the Research and Innovation website.
  

Employees are expected to:

• Keep all scheduled appointments for medical testing and physician evaluations;
• Implement recommendations of monitoring reports;
• Use personal protective equipment when required;
• Follow established worksite rules when working with or around hazards covered by this program;
• Request exposure monitoring services, as needed; and,
• Report any changes in personal health that might be related to a workplace health hazard:
  • If you are pregnant, seeking to become pregnant, immunocompromised, or have concerns related to your health based on your workplace exposure, discuss your concerns with your primary care physician and/or the occupational physician when an appointment is scheduled;
  • If you develop signs or symptoms that you associate with exposures in your workplace or that are related to respirator use, contact Environmental Health & Safety immediately by calling 540-231-3600 so that a consultation can be arranged with the occupational physician.

Controls

If employees are exposed above allowable limits as established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), EHS will work with the employees' department to determine if engineering, administrative, or work practice controls can be implemented to reduce employee exposures. Medical surveillance will be provided for affected employees while these controls are being implemented, or if they fail or are not feasible.

Entrance methods

Environmental Health & Safety is responsible for reviewing all new hires and all current employee exposure conditions to determine entrance eligibility. Departments have the responsibility of notifying Environmental Health & Safety whenever changes are made to employees' job duties, and whenever employees, such as graduate student workers, are placed in exposure situations. Environmental Health & Safety will determine if employees are or may be exposed above limits by performing workplace and process evaluations and/or by actually monitoring employee exposures.

Volunteers, wage employees, and persons working on stipend will be provided access to medical services if they are performing work in an 'employee-like' capacity. 'Employee-like' means the person is performing work on behalf of the university, is being directly supervised by a university employee, and can be dismissed for cause.

Entrance criteria

Medical surveillance services will be provided if employees are exposed above allowable limits to certain chemicals, dusts, or physical agents. Medical surveillance services, including vaccinations and titers, will also be provided if employees are exposed to bloodborne pathogens, are employed as animal handlers or who have significant animal exposure, or if they work with infectious agents, select agents, or toxins. The entrance criteria and medical services provided are listed in Table 1 and Table 2.

Frequency of medical evaluations

Depending on the Entrance Criterion, the evaluations will be offered by Environmental Health & Safety at any combination of the following times:

1. Time of Assignment: "Time of Assignment" is the thirty-day period following EITHER the first day of employment in a position OR the first day of assignment to new working conditions where an employee will be exposed to a health hazard covered in Table 1.
2. Periodic: "Periodic" evaluation frequency is typically annual; however it may be greater or less. The frequency is specified in the applicable regulation for the hazard to which the employee is exposed and is generally outlined in Table 1 of the written program.
3. Emergency Exposure: "Post Exposure" evaluations are to be given as soon as possible after a known exposure incident has occurred, or after an employee develops signs or symptoms that may be related to a work-related exposure.
4. Exit Evaluations: "Exit Evaluations" are required by many regulations (see Table 1 of the written program) and are to be provided within a 60-day period before the date that the employee leaves the position/work environment that posed the health risk. The supervisor is responsible for notifying Environmental Health & Safety when an employee is planning to leave a position where an Exit Evaluation must be offered.

Table 1 - Entrance Criteria for Chemicals, Dusts, and Physical Agents

(a) Covered carcinogens include 4-Nitrobiphenyl, alpha-Naphthylamine, methyl chloromethyl ether, 3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine (and its salts), bis- Chloromethyl ether, beta-Naphthylamine, Benzidine, 4-Aminodiphenyl, Ethyleneimine, beta-Propiolactone, 2-Acetylaminofluorene, 4-Dimethylaminoazo-benzene, and N-Nitrosodimethylamine. Certain exemptions apply. Please contact EHS for further information.

For detailed information on the medical services provided for each enrollment criteria, please reference the Written Program.

Table 2 - Entrance Criteria for Other Agents

For detailed information on the medical services provided for each enrollment criteria, please reference the Written Program.

Appointments can be scheduled by calling 540-231-3998 or by sending an email to ehsmedserv@vt.edu.

If you are a new employee who needs to be enrolled in Occupational Health Assurance Program or you have questions regarding the program, please contact:

Medical Services group, Environmental Health & Safety, at 540-231-3998 (1-3998 via campus phones).

If you are already enrolled in the Occupational Healh Assurance Program, Environmental Health & Safety will contact you or your supervisor when it is time for your appointment. Many supervisors schedule their employees' appointments according to workgroup schedules in order to reduce the impact on personnel and workflow. Your supervisor can let you know whether to contact Environmental Health & Safety directly or work through your reporting chain for the appointment.

Audiogram results are given to the employee on the day of testing. Environmental Health & Safety will get the results of any other tests and the doctor’s comments back to you as soon as possible. The timeframe will vary depending on whether you are scheduled to see the doctor or whether he will be reviewing just your test data.

Medical Services Training provided by Environmental Health & Safety is done at the Corporate Research Center (CRC), 2020 Kraft Drive, Suite 2100. 

For questions, contact Juliet Dadras, 540-231-8733 or mjdadras@vt.edu.

You will be asked to fill out a form describing what your job duties are and the type of PPE you use. The nurse will take blood pressure and pulse. The doctor will examine you and talk to you about your test results and will go over any questions you may have. If you are exposed to certain types of dust or are an asbestos worker you will have a chest radiograph to make sure your lungs are still normal. Employees who are exposed to certain chemicals will have urine analyzed to ensure that the kidneys are functioning properly.

This information can be found on the Safety Data Sheet for the chemical or product. See Hazard Communication for more information.