The Miners Hospital Advisory Council was established to evaluate compliance of the Miners Hospital with the court-ordered settlement and to make recommendations about the delivery of health services to disabled miners.
The Council is made up of four members from the mining community (miners or their spouses) including at least two representing the United Mine Workers of America. Four members represent the University of Utah. The Council may invite two additional individuals to serve, but they will not have voting rights.
The council meets at least two times yearly.
Advisory Board, Staff, Director, & Physicians
Advisory Board
Dave Maggio
I was born in 1948 in Dragerton, Utah and am still living there today. I have been married to my beautiful wife Shelly for 45 years and we have two children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
I graduated from East Carbon High School in 1967 and graduated from the College of Eastern Utah in 1977. I proudly served two and a half tours in Vietnam and am a proud Vietnam Vet. I worked as a third generation underground coal miner for 25 years. I also worked for the United Mine Workers of America as an International Representative for 5 years.
I am retired but still a very active member of the United Mine Workers of America. I am President of UMWA Local Union 9958 and have held this position for 22 years. I have also served on my local City Council for 16 years. I have been on The Miners Hospital Advisory Board for four and a half years.
Warren Oviatt
I was raised as a young child in the La Sal Mountains in a Uranium Mining Camp. I graduated high school at Emery High in Castle Dale, Utah. I worked in mines for 40 plus years and also spent time as a volunteer firefighter. I've been a member of the Huntington Fire Department since it first started 45 years ago and have been an EMT for 20 years. I have been on the Advisory Board of The Miners Hospital since it started. To see the help we have been able to give miners when they have come to The Miners Hospital makes my heart swell with pride.
Robert "Bob" Thomas
I began working in 1972 for a surface mine operation, as a machinist, for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local Union 1620 in Kayenta, Arizona. I worked for UMWA mines in Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. The last 20 years I worked for Valley Camp of Utah in Clear Creek, Utah. I retired as a member of the United Mine Workers of America Local Union 6788. I am currently the President of Local Union 6788 and have held this position since 2003.
I have been on The Miners Hospital Board since 2010.
Paul Robinett
I began working on drilling rigs in 1972 for Boyle Brother's Drilling Company on contract upon UMWA ground. I joined the UMWA at this time and worked for four years drilling for Kaiser Steel when this contract was finished I went to work for American Coal at the Des-Bee-Dove mine outside of Orangeville, Utah. This was a good mine and a good employer but I left there when Kaiser Steel offered me work at the Sunnyside mine. Layoffs soon followed and at the end of the year I applied at U.S. Steel for a mining job and was hired at the Geneva Mine at Horse Canyon. I worked there until it closed in 1983.
Many mines in Carbon and Emery county closed during this time so I returned to school for a degree in Secondary Education. During this time I was a wild land fire fighter during fire season and a student during fall and winter quarters. I graduated with a BS in Sec Ed and went to work for the Carbon County school district for six years after which the district had a reduction in work force and I was laid off.
I went to work for Rags Coal at the Willow Creek Mine and worked there until it exploded killing two and injuring eleven others at the headgate to the longwall.
I then went to work for Four Corners Community Health as a mental health social worker and also hd to return to school again to get a license as a state social worker. I worked there for thirteen years before retiring. My job was with SPI. Severe and persistent mental illness. These were the most ill people in southeast Utah who could not live outside the state hospital without extensive support.
I have also worked as a first responder for East Carbon City for 21 years driving ambulances. My wife, Barbara, is the director of our service. I am also a Vietnam veteran serving with the Army.
Thank you for this opportunity to assist with the miners hospital and continue to serve my fellow miners and the UMWA.
Staff
Shawn Shipley, RN
I have been a truck driver for most of my life, driving local as well as over the road. I decided to go back to school and became a Registered Nurse in 2012 where I proceeded to work in the fast paced environment of the emergency room for several years. I then went part time in the ER and became a correctional nurse at Salt Lake County Jail for 2 years. I feel passionate about patient care and am excited to bring that energy to The Miners Hospital. I started with The Miners Hospital in October of 2017 and have enjoyed being a part of this program. I see a huge benefit in how it can work to help and improve people's lives. I am excited to see this program move forward in years to come.
Jenn Kramer
I'm the new administrative assistant for The Miners Hospital. I'm excited to be a part of the team and serve Utah's miners! I've worked for University of Utah Health for 11 years; I'm committed to helping our patients. I was born and raised here in Utah. When I'm not working, I love to hike, camp, and spend time with my dog, Zoey.
Medical Director
Meredith Ehn
Miners Doctors
Jeremy Biggs
Eric Wood
Eric Wood, MD, MPH is Director of Occupational Medicine, and Director of the Occupational Medicine Residency Program at the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah. He is a graduate of the University of Utah School of Medicine, and he completed his Masters of Public Health (Industrial Hygiene) at the University of Hawaii. He completed residency training in Family Medicine at the University of Nevada, Reno, and residency training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Utah. He is Board Certified in both Preventive Medicine (Occupational and Environmental Medicine) and Family Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Utah he worked as an attending physician for Intermountain Healthcare, and as a professional industrial hygienist for both private consulting, and for Utah OSHA.
Dr. Wood is actively involved as a researcher on two large-scale prospective cohort studies investigating causes of musculoskeletal disorders. He was appointed as the inaugural medical fellow for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and performs research on health concerns of truck drivers. His clinical interests include occupational injury and illness management and prevention, and occupational and environmental exposure assessment and evaluation. Dr. Wood teaches several courses in the graduate school Occupational Health Curriculum including Industrial and Environmental Toxicology and Physiology, and Occupational Safety and Health Solutions.
Dr. Wood is honored to have the privilege of providing care for ill and injured Miners through his affiliation with The Miners Hospital at University of Utah Health.
Barbara Cahill
Barbara Cahill, MD, is a professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Cahill specializes in pulmonary medicine and lung transplantation. She has clinical interests in tuberculosis and occupational lung diseases. She is a Black Lung provider.
Dr. Cahill earned her MD at the University of Illinois, Peoria. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Minnesota.
Contact the Miners Hospital Advisory Council
Members of the Miners Hospital Advisory Council welcome your questions and concerns. The council members' email addresses are listed below:*
Dave Maggio
daygo@emerytelcom.net
Warren Oviatt
aqua@etv.net
Robert Thomas
bt4ts@yahoo.com
*In the subject line of your email, please write "Miners Hospital".