Project Faculty and Staff Laurence Fuortes, MD, MS, Project Director, Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at The University of Iowa College of Public Health and College of Medicine, serves as the Project Director and is ultimately responsible for the technical conduct of this program. He is an occupational medicine and internal medicine physician with over twenty years of clinical experience and more than fifteen years of experience in conducting occupational and environmental public health programs. He has served as a manager of public health research and service programs in State and Federal governments. Dr. Fuortes directs, plans, and manages all aspects of the UI-FWP, which includes providing expert clinical decision-making while executing the medical screening tests, determining the diagnoses and referrals for follow-up medical evaluations; preparing medical verification for former workers’ occupational illness compensation claims; performing ILO readings of the chest x-rays; educating former workers individually and at public meetings about the UI-FWP, EEOICP and concerns related to the diagnoses of occupational illnesses as a result of employment at the BAECP and Ames Laboratory; collecting, managing and analyzing data; coordinating sample analysis and quality assurance; supervising program staff; and preparing reports. Jill Welch, MPH, Project Coordinator, is responsible for all day-to-day aspects of the project, including executing all administrative and financial matters such as producing monthly, quarterly and annual reports; IRB applications; budget planning and monitoring; hiring, training, and supervising staff; creating program and mailing materials; and coordinating recruitment mass mailings. She maintains regular contact with the Dr. Fuortes, the UI-FWP staff, DOE, DOL, and NSSP Program Officers, and the BAECP and Ames Laboratory office staff. She assists with screenings by arranging for facilities, overseeing the screening schedule, and obtaining informed consent and preparing the shipment of blood samples as well as overseeing NSSP referrals and those eligible for compensation. Marek Mikulski, MPH, Database Manager and Case Manager, is responsible for developing and managing the participant databases and working closely with Dr. Fuortes to review medical records for participants’ eligibility in the UI-FWP; designating participants to schedule for medical screenings; and writing and mailing post-screening medical results letters. He also assists with former workers’ employment verification for their occupational illness compensation claims. Marek is a NIOSH spirometry-certified technician and administers the spirometry exams at the medical screenings. Christina Nichols, CMA, Assistant Case Manager and Claims Manager, assists in the execution, coordination and delivery of the medical screening program by arranging for facilities, determining the screening schedule, purchasing medical supplies and equipment, and administering the medical screening tests (phlebotomy and preparing the shipment of blood samples). She also arranges the medical screening tests at local hospitals and home visits. She provides support, advice, and information about occupational health issues and/or diagnoses to program participants, their families and/or survivors, and health care professionals. She coordinates and facilitates former workers or their survivors with filing occupational illness compensation claims. Tara Alcazar, MS, Recruitment and Scheduling Manager, oversees the recruitment and scheduling of the former workers’ medical screening appointments and the recruiters/schedulers. She assists with the recruitment of the Ames Laboratory former workers, schedules them for their screening appointment or refers them to the NSSP, and identifies those who may be eligible for compensation. Tara manages and updates the participant contact lists and compiles and distributes the screening schedule. She manages the calls from the toll-free phone line; answers participants’ questions about the medical screening and occupational illness compensation program, and triages the calls to appropriate staff member/area of the project. She also prepares the forms and documents needed for each participant’s screening appointment and referral to the NSSP. R. William Field, PhD, Consultant, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at The University of Iowa College of Public Health. Dr. Field is an experienced health physicist and environmental epidemiologist who provides invaluable expertise in evaluating available radiation exposure data and developing exposure algorithms for relevant subsets of the workforce. Nancy Sprince, MD, MPH, Consultant, is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health and former Director of the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Dr. Sprince has extensive experience in occupational pulmonary diseases. From 1978-1990, she was Director of the Beryllium Case Registry at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Sprince performs ILO readings of the chest x-rays for pneumoconiosis. Patrick Hartley, MD, MPH, Consultant, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of the Workers Health Clinic and the University Employee Health Clinic at The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. His specialties include occupational lung diseases, general pulmonary medicine and medical center occupational safety. Dr. Hartley performs ILO readings of the chest x-rays for pneumoconiosis. Pournima Navalkele, Graduate Student Assistant, data enters information from the medical screenings into the participant database; assists in the interpretation of participants' Health and Occupational History questionnaires and medical records; assists with organizing, finalizing, and mailing the medical screening results letters; and organizes the participants' program/medical files. She also assists with the preparation and execution of the medical screening tests (phlebotomy and spirometry). Nick Hoeger, Research Assistant, assists with the recruitment of the former workers to participate in the medical screening program, schedules them for their screening appointment or refers them to the NSSP, and identifies those who may be eligible for compensation. He makes reminder calls for the medical screenings and further assists with preparation for each participant's screening appointment. Victoria Schweiger, Research Assistant, assists with ongoing data entry of the questionnaires, mailings, participant satisfaction surveys, and NSSP referrals. She organizes the mass mailings of the consent documents and questionnaires to new participants. She also assists with the preparation for screening appointments. Paul Russum, Research Assistant, assists with ongoing data entry of medical screening results and participant records and with the production of the medical screening results letters. He compiles and organizes the occupational illness compensation claims paperwork; and retrieves, triages, and responds to claims- and results-related messages from the toll-free phone line. Leda Lozier, Office Assistant, assists with data entry, library and Internet searches, and general clerical assistance. Dan McMillan is a communication specialist for The University of Iowa College of Public Health. He writes and disseminates press releases and communications with media and community representatives, including the Community Advisory Boards. |