Safety & Occupational Health Manager

Job Title

Developing local policies, regulations, and policies pertaining to facility safety, GEMS, and emergency management, as well as mission statements, performance standards and functional and organizational charts as they apply to the service. Evaluating new policies and directives to determine the impact on Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Services.

Planning, organizing, coordinating, analyzing, and administrating a series of comprehensive inspections of the Medical Center's facilities in patient care areas, laboratory areas, engineering shops, offices, as well as community nursing homes, Adult Day Care Centers, Grant and Per Diem facilities and residential board and care homes. Provides management with reports on compliance and violations of safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and fire protection mandates, in compliance with the guidelines and regulations developed by VA Central Office (VACO), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Safety and Occupational Health (NIOSH), The Joint Commission (T JC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other agencies. Issues notices of unsafe working conditions to management when inspection findings warrant and recommends methods for hazard abatement and the correction of unsafe conditions or practices.

Managing, planning, developing and implementing various Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Service related projects and programs affecting the medical center, and its CBOCs and satellite operations. Gives technical interpretations of complex regulations to his/her staff as well as various services within the RJDVAMC system. Accurate interpretations of these regulations and directives are essential.

Ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations concerning the management of hazardous materials and wastes, and universal waste from the point of entry into the facility to its final disposal. This includes overseeing industrial hygiene evaluations, asbestos monitoring, lead abatement, hazardous waste disposal, medical surveillance, permitting (Material) Safety Data Sheets, and training.

Analyzing new or proposed legislation, directives or measures affecting Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Services, to determine the impact on medical center operations, funding, workload, and resources. Identifying and developing data required for use in the management and direction of these and related programs.

Overseeing and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve emergency management problems, including but not limited to emergency preparedness drills, decontamination procedures and training of personnel in all aspects of decontamination of personnel; recalling personnel using the cascade system; facilitating interaction between the facility and the community by means of the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC).

Overseeing and providing technical expertise for the design, modification, operation and maintenance of the facility and infrastructure to ensure compliance with safety, environmental and emergency management requirements.

Overseeing the execution of the facility safety and fire prevention program, including preparation of all policies, reports, safety, occupational health and fire prevention-related correspondence.

Overseeing the environmental management programs throughout the health care facility. The incumbent ensures compliance with all provisions and regulations of this program and initiates or completes corrective actions as needed.

Planning, conducting or directing special studies concerned with emergency response compliance problems which require the development or modification of protective devices or the evaluation of control measures for a specific operation, such as decontamination team response to hazmat or WMD incidents. Often serves as team leader during drills.

Exercises financial management responsibilities for all fund control points of the Service and develops workload and cost data for the preparation of the medical center budget in relationship to the fund control points. Formulates annual budgetary information and forwards such to the Chief Financial Officer. Develops both long and short-range plans for the Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Service by coordinating the administration needs of the Service. Responsible for making and implementing decisions directly affecting patient care.