SALT LAKE CITY —The University of Utah's Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH), the first statutorily established occupational health center in the U.S., has won a $8.43 million, 5-year grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to train graduate students and residents and conduct research in occupational safety and health.
The RMCOEH will emphasize:
- Increasing the size of the center's academic programs;
- Utilizing research projects for trainee experiences;
- Growing the center's research programs;
- Furthering our post-doctoral training program;
- Continuing to develop distance-based education programs; and
- Growing a new undergraduate program in occupational health and safety.
The RMCOEH has training programs in ergonomics & safety, industrial hygiene, occupational injury prevention, occupational medicine, continuing education, and outreach.
RMCOEH bested the scores of all other centers nationally. "The Rocky Mountain Center's score reflects the combination of deep legislative support; an engaged advisory board; active business and labor involvement; and our outstanding students and programs. We are both thrilled and honored," said center director, Kurt Hegmann, MD, MPH.
RMCOEH is housed in the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine and includes faculty in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Economics, Internal Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the School of Business, and College of Mines and Earth Sciences.
The center is dedicated to protecting workers and their environment through interdisciplinary education, research, and service, and serves as a NIOSH-supported education and research center, serving HHS Region 8 (which includes Utah, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado).