Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Enviromental Health

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Overall Abstract The vision of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH) is to be the leading center in the world in meeting current and future occupational and environmental health and safety challenges, thereby protecting workers and their environments. RMCOEH will achieve this through interdisciplinary education, research, and service, as stated in its mission. RMCOEH has six established programs that have produced 761 graduates and will continue to support the center’s goals (Ergonomics & Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Medicine Residency, Occupational Injury Prevention Research Training, Targeted Research Training, and Pilot Projects Research Training). The center’s Continuing Education program, meanwhile, has trained more than 15,000 workers in the preceding five years and impacts more than 3,000 businesses annually, and our Outreach program touches hundreds of thousands of people. RMCOEH intends to advance the training and impact of each of these programs, producing a diverse group of graduates and trainees that is equipped to meet the interdisciplinary needs of Health and Human Services Region 8 and to carry out the center’s vision and mission. Further, RMCOEH is proposing the addition of a new graduate certificate program for which there is major demand in Region 8: Occupational Health Nursing. This program will elevate RMCOEH’s impact to even greater heights and serve as a pipeline for employers that are in desperate need of occupational health nurses, ultimately ensuring workers are safer and receive better care in the event of an injury or illness. RMCOEH’s research efforts currently include 44+ current extramural projects with $30.8M in funding. These are crucial to the center’s success in the coming grant period. They will continue to bolster the center’s mission and contribute to the knowledge base of occupational and environmental health and safety issues. An example of RMCOEH’s ability to perform research that has immediate, real-world impact is its leadership role in groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccine efficacy studies that provided key information for the pandemic response. The center’s existing programs, the addition of an Occupational Health Nursing graduate certificate program, and a continuing focus on research will allow RMCOEH to continue serving a vital role in occupational and environmental health and safety in Region 8. We are eager to advance our efforts in the coming five years and aim to make an even larger impact on the lives of workers and their environment.