Oak Ridge Associated Universities 2006 Annual Report

Former DOE Worker Medical Screening Program in Full Swing
More than 2,500 former U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) workers have signed up for free medical
screenings during this initial year of the National
Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP), managed
by ORAU. At least 1,900 workers in 47 states, Puerto
Rico, and Canada have already visited a medical clinic
near their residence for examinations. ORAU hopes
to complete 2,300 screenings during this first year of
screening in the five-year program.
ORAU—along with its partners National Jewish
Medical and Research Center, Comprehensive Health
Services, Inc., and Occupational HealthLink—won
a competitive bid in the spring of 2005 to manage
this expansion of DOE’s Former Worker Medical
Screening Program.
The $19.7 million contract involves screenings
designed to identify occupational diseases, such as
chronic respiratory illnesses, hearing loss, kidney or
liver disease, and some forms of cancer.
The ORAU team, led by Dr. Donna Cragle, designed
a sophisticated, paperless information flow for the
screening process, which has received glowing reports.
In satisfaction surveys, patients said the system works
quickly and provides helpful, comprehensive results.
After completing a health and exposure questionnaire,
all workers receive a basic screening that includes a
physical exam, blood test, and hearing test. Based on
work history, some workers might receive additional
tests, such as lung function testing, chest X-ray, or
specialized exams related to beryllium, asbestos, or
epoxy resin exposures.
ORAU communicates all results, including
recommendations for follow-up, in a detailed report
mailed to participants. Although turnaround time can
be a challenge due to the multiple tests involved, the
ORAU team has worked to reduce the time from the
exam to when the patient receives results.
An NSSP Advisory Board was established to oversee the
process and review work completed. “It is important
for a program of this magnitude to have an advisory
board in terms of accountability and working with
DOE,” Cragle said. The board has met three times
and has been “very well received and representative of
various disciplines,” she added.
The National Supplemental Screening Program for
former nuclear workers got under way this year with
more than 2,500 people already signed up for free
medical screenings.
Board members are Mike Colligan, NIOSH; Charles D.
Miller, retired human resources director for the Kansas
City Plant; Lewis Pepper, principal investigator for
the Northern California and Nevada Test Site Former
Worker Programs; Joe Majestic, former environmental,
safety, and health director for the Pinellas Plant;
Robert McCunney, occupational medicine specialist;
John Semler, former worker of the Princeton Plasma
Physics Laboratory; and Jamie Stalker, Argonne
National Laboratory medical director.
33