[MCOH-EH] Reporting Structure for Occupational Health

[Mullinax, Ross A CDR USN DHA PORTSMOUTH NMC (USA)]

In the Navy, many related departments fall under the Director for Public Health (DPH).  This includes Occ Med, Prev Med, Occupational Audiology/Hearing Conservation, Industrial Hygiene, Immunizations, Health Promotions and Wellness, and Command Fitness.  The Safety Department reports directly to the Commanding Officer to reduce any barriers for reporting safety issues up the chain, but functionally it works closely with departments under DPH and attends DPH meetings.  The system generally works very well.  Infection Prevention/Control is generally considered more patient-centric and falls outside of DPH, though there is close collaboration there as well.

V/r,

Ross A. Mullinax, MD, MPH
CDR, MC, USN
Director for Public Health
Head, Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth

Email: ross.a.mullinax.mil at health.mil<mailto:ross.a.mullinax.mil at health.mil>
Tel: 757-953-9703

From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net> On Behalf Of Tim Crump via MCOH-EH
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 5:09 PM
To: mcoh-eh at mylist.net
Cc: Tim Crump <crumpt at ohsu.edu>
Subject: [MCOH-EH] Reporting Structure for Occupational Health

Hi Everyone, I have a question about reporting structure for your department and other departments devoted to safety at your institution.

At our institution, our department (Occupational Health) reports up to Human Resources.  Meanwhile our Department of Infection and Control reports to the Chief Medical Officer, our Student Health and Wellness reports to Student Affairs, and our Department of Environmental Health and Safety reports to Facilities.  All of our common missions have to do with safety and we frequently collaborate, but we all have very different reporting structures.  While the spirit of collaboration generally is strong, these disparate reporting structures could be very problematic if the spirit of collaboration was in question.

There are some in our department (myself included) who have advocated for the creation of the position of Vice President of Institutional Safety that would gather all these safety-related departments under that office.  It would be a strong reaffirmation of commitment to a culture of safety.

Does anyone have a reporting structure where all the departments related to safety report through a common structure?  Any thoughts or comments anyone has to share?  Thanks so much!  Best, Tim


Tim Crump, MSN, FNP
Tim Crump, MSN, FNP
He/Him/They/Them
Family Nurse Practitioner
Multnomah Pavilion (Second Floor, SW Wing), 3161 SW Pavilion Loop
Occupational Health
Healthcare Human Resources

+ ASIST Trained Caregiver<https://www.ohsu.edu/education/suicide-prevention>

Oregon Health & Science University
Occupational Health
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd,
Mail code: UHN 89
Portland, OR 97239-3098
Department Phone: 503-494-5271
Office Phone: 503-494-5184
Fax: 503-494-4457
Email: crumpt at ohsu.edu<mailto:crumpt at ohsu.edu>

Wed-Fri, 7:30-6:00

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