About Worksafe Iowa
Our Mission
Providing comprehensive, cost-effective, state of the art solutions to occupational health problems for businesses and individuals throughout Iowa and the Midwest.
Worksafe Iowa offers affordable occupational health services through a team of health and safety specialists that include educators, ergonomists, industrial hygienists, occupational medicine physicians and nurses, and safety specialists. Our home—within the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa College of Public Health—uniquely places us in an environment that allows access to ongoing research and the latest technologies in exposure assessment, hazard control, and occupational medicine.
Worksafe Iowa was established in 1987 with startup funding provided by the Kellogg Foundation. Since then, we have become a self-supporting nonprofit organization within the College of Public Health serving the state of Iowa and the surrounding Midwest region. Our service areas have grown from industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, and education to include product safety and ergonomics.
Staff
- occupational biomechanics (ergonomics
- Therapeutic applications of new technology
- Electromyography
- Macro ergonomics
- Uses of information/communications technology to advance global health
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Thomas M. Cook PT, PhD Dr.Cook is a professor of occupational ergonomics with the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the UI College of Public Health. His expertise and research interests include: Phone: (319) 335-4533 |
Fred
Gerr MD
- Dr. Gerr is an occupational medicine physician with the Department
of Occupational and Environmental Health at the UI
College of Public Health. He is Director of Worksafe
Iowa’s Occupational Medicine Associates Network and has
been practicing occupational medicine for nearly 20 years. Dr. Gerr
has clinical experience with occupational lung diseases, work-related
musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological illness related to occupational
exposures. Before coming to the UI
he directed the Occupational Medicine Consultation Clinic at Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Gerr is originally from Yonkers, New York.
Email: fred-gerr@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4212 
Kimberly Gordon MSN, MA, RN,- Ms. Gordon is a certified occupational health nursing-specialist who
has been working in occupational health and safety for over 15 years.
She coordinates Worksafe Iowa’s
Occupational Medicine Associates Network, and directs all continuing
education and outreach programs sponsored by Worksafe
Iowa and the Heartland
Center for Occupational Health & Safety. Ms. Gordon is contributing
editor of the Workplace Health & Safety Report, and provides educational
programs for employers. She is also an affiliate clinical instructor
in The University of Iowa College of Nursing. Ms. Gordon is a native
of Manchester, Iowa.
Email: kimberly-gordon@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4423 
William Heitbrink
PhD, CIH- Dr. Heitbrink is a certified industrial hygienist from Dayton, Ohio who joined the UI College of Public Health faculty following a career in NIOSH specializing in aerosol science and hazard control methods. He provides expertise in research and development for engineering designs, including ventilation and filtration. Areas of specialization:
- Control measure development
- Respirators
- Exposure assessment
- Some litigation support
- Dr. Heitbrink is available for consultation on issues dealing with
control measures.
Email: william-heitbrink@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4213 - Stephanie Leonard MS
- Ms. Leonard is an industrial hygienist who has been active in Worksafe
Iowa consultation and education activities since its inception
in 1987. She also serves as an industrial hygiene consultant on research
and surveillance projects involving Iowa pesticide application exposures
and the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant former worker programs. Prior to
joining Worksafe Iowa, Ms. Leonard coordinated
research studies at the UI involving
agricultural workers’ occupational exposures. She is originally
from Holstein, Iowa.
Email: stephanie-leonard@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4432
Murray Madsen BSAgE, MBA- Mr. Madsen is a program consultant and principal provider of product
safety services for Worksafe Iowa. He
has experience in product safety program development and technical support
to prevent personal injuries associated with agricultural machines—including
consumer product safety, international government regulations relating
to products, and product design. Mr. Madsen came from Deere & Company
where he was product safety engineer for agricultural equipment. He
is a native of Arco, Minnesota.
Email: murray-madsen@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4481 
James Merchant
MD, DrPH- Dr. Merchant is dean of the UI
College of Public Health. He has served as head of the UI
College of Medicine’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental
Health, director of the department’s Division of Occupational
and Environmental Health and Institute for Rural and Environmental Health,
and has taught and directed various research centers at UI
since 1981. In 1987, Dr. Merchant founded Worksafe
Iowa with startup funding from the Kellogg Foundation, and served
as past director of the program. He is a certified ILO
“C” chest x-ray reader and specialist in pulmonary medicine.
Prior to his career at UI, Dr.
Merchant directed the Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety
and Health and the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies at NIOSH.
Dr. Merchant is a native of Ames, Iowa.
Email: james-merchant@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-5452 
Craig
Zwerling MD, PhD,
MPH- Dr. Zwerling is an occupational physician and an injury epidemiologist.
He is the head of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health
at the UI College of Public
Health and also serves as the director for Worksafe
Iowa. In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Zwerling worked
for eight years as a medical officer for the U.S. Postal Service. He
is originally from Brooklyn, New York.
Email: craig-zwerling@uiowa.edu
Phone: (319) 335-4428
