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No Longer Invisible – Public Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

MAY 2020 COVID-19 has shown a light on the subject of public health and its important role it serves for everyone. The School of Public Health offered a webinar titled No Longer Invisible: Public health during the COVID 19 pandemic to highlight the work of public health during this time. Dr. Jeff Bender, UMASH center director was one of 4 panelists …

NORA Online Symposium: Creating an Age-Friendly Workplace

MAY 2020 With age comes wisdom but also an increased risk of injury. Creating an age-friendly workplace was the focus of this year’s National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Online Symposium, hosted by UMASH and the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Education and Research Center (MCOHS). Presenters included Dr. James Grosch (Co-Director …

Connecting during COVID-19: Weekly Thinktank

APRIL 2020 The beginning of 2020 spun many plans upside down as we all adjusted to our new normal. AgriSafe Network, a national nonprofit known for “Protecting the People that Feed the World” through training, education, and other programs, brought together stakeholders to respond to the ever-evolving pandemic. In collaboration with the Central …

Worker Safety is Safety for All of Us

APRIL 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has far reaching effects, most recently named are the meat packing plants across the country. Many of the workers are from Haiti, Guatemala, and Mexico as well as many African Americans who spend many hours in strenuous conditions to contribute to the farm economy and our food supply. Amy Liebman, who is a researcher …

COVID-19 is here – What does that mean for farmers?

APRIL 2020 Dr. Jeff Bender, UMASH Center director, was part of an AgriSafe sponsored webinar on April 2, 2020. The webinar was aimed at assisting producers learn more about COVID-19, impacts on farming operations and strategies to assist farmers to stay safe, healthy and productive during this time. Dr. Bender spoke on “Keeping Producers/Ag Workers …

SPOTLIGHT: Protecting our Agriculture Workers is “Essential”

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of those who produce our food. Deemed “essential” workers, these individuals continue to milk our cows, process our meat, plant our crops and harvest of our food. They do this while many of us have switched to a virtual, online world from the classroom to the office. And in many cases their work continues as usual but at great risk. …

What Are Your Top Health & Safety Concerns for Aging Farmers? We’d Like to Know.

APRIL 2020 The average age of U.S. farmers is approaching 60 years old, making farmers vulnerable to health and safety risks. No matter your age or occupation, we’d like to hear your top health and safety concerns for aging farmers. Our new online tool allows you to easily vote between two options, choosing what matters most to you. You can vote as …

SPOTLIGHT: Safe Digging Tips, Myths, & Facts

811 is the national number designated by the Federal Communications Commission to help protect homeowners and professional excavators from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects – large and small. …

SPOTLIGHT: Training Dairy Workers on Health and Safety

 APRIL 2020 Chela Vázquez Coordinator and Trainer vazquezc@umn.edu It’s been two years since I joined UMASH doing trainings on health and safety in Spanish for dairy workers in Minnesota. My job entails going to dairy farms, meeting workers and engaging them in discussion about potential injuries on the farm and ways to prevent it. I have learned …