Dear employer,


The health and safety of our community is our highest priority as we plan and manage the ongoing developments surrounding COVID-19. As circumstances evolve, it is vital that employers in our community are healthy and feel supported through this unprecedented time.

Currently there are no plans to close or limit hours of operation for our Grants Pass and Medford Occupational Health locations. After-hour drug screen services also are not affected at this time.

Should one of your employees have flu-like symptoms and needs medical care, we ask that the employee schedule a video visit through their Asante MyChart account or call the Asante COVID-19 hotline at (541) 789-2813. A representative will direct the employee to the appropriate care option.

If you are concerned that one of your employees may have been exposed or contracted COVID-19 through work-related responsibilities, please call Asante Occupational Health for additional assistance at (541) 789-4236.


Thank you,
​
Kathy Johal Manager of Practice Operations, Asante Occupational Health
​(541) 789-5435 or Kathryn.Johal@asante.org

Last week I heard some bitter-sweet news – the kind of news you dread, but then you can’t be upset about it.   It seems that one of our local safety leaders has been promoted and will be leaving the area.  This is a person who has a humble demeaner, but at the same time is an effective leader.  I won’t give her name away because I haven’t asked her permission.  But I will talk about her as a positive example of being plugged into the safety community and the Southern Oregon Chapter of the ASSP.
 
I don’t think that any of our members join the ASSP just so they can use it as a stepping stool in getting to some lofty position.  I can’t think of anyone who would fit that description.  But I can say that I see a lot of folks who join because they recognize it is the premier trade organization of the safety profession!  As and example, when I became a safety professional, I asked my supervisor if there was an organization I could be a part of that would help me be better at what I do, where I could build professional relationships, see how other people make safety happen, and if possible, a place where I can help out.  He said I should join the ASSP and be involved in the local chapter. 
 
So, follow me on this:  In this bitter-sweet situation, we see a person who was, years ago, relatively new to safety and who decided she needed to be plugged into the local community of safety professionals.  She attended chapter meetings and helped on the Conference Committee.  Soon she was participating in various ways with the chapter leadership team.  Eventually, she became the president of the chapter and supported very necessary organizations such as WISE, O[Yes], and a variety of other functions.  She was sent to the ASSP leadership conference, attended safety conferences, and eventually obtained her Certified Safety Professional credentials.  As I see it, she didn’t join to make all this happen.  She joined because it was a part of her profession, and yet it was also a part of her journey to where she is today in this profession.  Because of her abilities, her skills, her leadership and her willingness to be involved, she has had success in our chapter and in her organization, which resulted in her being promoted several times to include this most recent promotion which will have her leaving our chapter.  There’s where the bitter-sweet comes in! I have seen similar results with so many of our members and to be honest, it just makes me smile to see such great things happen to such great people!
 
We will be sorry to see her move, but we can say that we are better for her time here and I am guessing she will say that she is better for her time being involved.  Being plugged in is essential to building ourselves as professionals.  We all have something to offer each other in terms of friendship, support, mentorship, teaching and learning.  We all make each other better at what we do.  We can gain insights and rise to new levels when we get plugged in and get involved.  While we congratulate her on her success, we will miss her when she moves.   We can’t help but be excited for our members who have built their success along with the group of members who make up the Southern Oregon Chapter of the ASSP.
 
Get plugged in and get involved as it is just what safety professionals do – it’s a part of the journey.
 
Chris Lawrence
President, ASSP – Southern Oregon Chapter
 
​With over 20 years in occupational safety and health, Chris Lawrence is a retired US Air Force Safety Professional who is the Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade.

One of the biggest career development opportunities for me was to serve on the Executive Committee for this chapter. The value of serving and growing with fellow safety professionals that are leading the way in safety for Southern Oregon has been immeasurable. I was recruited for my current position at SAIF by a mentor and fellow Executive Committee member, Mary Hoskins. This was after eight years of service on either the Conference Planning Committee or the Executive Committee or both. Mary was such a wonderful example to me at the peak of her career at SAIF and doing an amazing job at ASSP. She raised the bar high with her spirit of excellence and cheerful encouragement of all of us.
 
With that said, I have a two-fold announcement: I am pleased to announce the new slate of officers to be voted on in our May meeting. If we can meet in person, we will carry the vote by show of hands as usual, if not, we will send out a digital election survey.
 
Second, we still have a few openings on the slate. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know. The current slate will stand for the election, but we can have the president appoint for open positions as needed. We still need a vice president. This person will have an amazing opportunity to grow in leadership and attend regional meetings to represent our chapter. Lastly, we have the operations coordinator position open. This position helps to make sure we are meeting our timeline for chapter requirements. We are also looking for a treasurer in training for next year’s slate. Thanks for your thoughtful consideration and for all those who agreed to serve this year. I look forward to working with you to help advance safety in Southern Oregon.
 
2020/2021 ASSP Southern Oregon Chapter Slate of Candidates for Election
(The 2020/2021 chapter year runs from July 1st, 2020 to June 30, 2021.)
 
President – David Hanson
Vice President – Open Position
Past President – Chris Lawrence
Secretary – Roy Harper
Treasurer – Patti McGuire
Program Coordinator – David Spence
Membership Coordinator – Amy Stonehill
Communications Coordinator – Kyle Valley
Conference Planning Chair – Michael Hill
Government Affairs Coordinator – Ross Olson
Operations Coordinator – Open Position
 
The vote, that will occur on the first Tuesday in May, will be to approve the entire slate. Since we do not have any contested positions, we will be looking for your support of these leaders who have agreed to serve. Thank you for ​​being a member of the Southern Oregon chapter.
 
Michael Hill
Past President

I went to the Southern Oregon Chapter of the ASSP monthly meeting to hear a presentation on Safety Leadership from Brandi Davis, a member of the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Now some might question what an OSHA person knows about safety leadership since they just enforce laws, which is in no way leadership. However, if such a person would have sat through her very powerful presentation, he or she would have a completely new perspective on the subject. Obviously, most OSHA personnel have previous experience in the private sector, so it's no surprise that like most safety professionals, they know leadership is key to safety success. The perspective Brandi brought was very impacting. She used a series of bad accidents to show where various company leadership teams failed to lead safety. She showed how certain leadership actions could have prevented these tragedies.
As she presented, I was thinking about how we are very different people with very different work perspectives. However, most safety people, whether private or public sector, are looking for the same thing – to improve and sustain safety. In her description of one incident, she became emotional as she spoke on the tragic outcome of the event. Her emotions showed a truly human response to a bad human event that didn’t have to happen. That is where our perspectives joined on the same path. To this day, I still get very emotional if I happen to talk about the investigations of some tragic events that didn’t have to happen. Talking to a 14-year-old daughter whose father will never return home is imprinted in my mind forever. Seeing a wife and her two young children scurrying around a humble home while I talk to her husband as he sits in his wheelchair, knowing their life will never be the same again, can be emotionally draining. I realized that she and I are very different people, but our mission is the same. This is the absolute beauty of being involved in these meetings.
If you are not regularly attending these monthly meetings at the Black Bear Diner on the first Tuesday of the month, you are really missing out on an opportunity to share what you bring to the table and to learn from what others bring. These meetings give us a chance to meet people who have different perspectives and a variety of experiences. I find that attendees have different backgrounds, training, education, experiences and skill level. I see that they come from a variety of entities such as public and private sectors. We have attendees from schools, government, manufacturing, insurance, service, non- profits and many other types of organizations. Each brings a potential for supportive professional relationships that help us to become better at what we do and, yes, maybe we help others become better champions of their professional efforts. This is the beauty of these meetings; we are all on the same mission, but we can always learn from different perspectives that will show up at these meetings.
I hope to see you there in future meetings – I can’t wait to hear your perspective at improving and sustaining safety! It just feels like it’s a place where safety people belong.
​
Chris Lawrence
President, ASSP – Southern Oregon Chapter


With over 20 years in occupational safety and health, Chris Lawrence is a retired US Air Force Safety Professional who is the
Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade

​By Amy Stonehill

A New Decade Challenge

In our fast-paced world, I sincerely doubt that anyone wakes up thinking, “Wow, I better be careful today or I might slip/trip/fall/get hurt”. And yet, this exact circumstance happens daily… to very unsuspecting, very busy people.

For me, it has to do with paying attention. I am a planner. I tend to be 3 steps ahead. I’ve always been this way. I’m already thinking ahead to what is next WHILE I am walking/driving, with the ‘assumption’ that everyone will just “do what they’re supposed to do” and I’ll just tootle on by and get to whatever it is that I am trying to do…

As life would have it, I have been caught in the freefall suspended moment in time on my way to the ground knowing, “Oh, this is gonna HURT!” more times than I would like to admit. In ponderingthe new decade, I came to the realization that perhaps slowing down – JUST A SMIDGE – might allow me to see that people/cars/stuff may not act the way I “assume” that they will. 

I decided to experiment to see if I could actually DO it. So, here we are in February 2020. And do you know, I haven’t missed anything “important” – I actually have MORE time than I thought I had! AND, I’ve avoided slipping on wet pavement or tripping over curbs. I’ve actually caught myself looking up and enjoying the scenery rather than rushing by to ‘get there’. The funny thing is, I’ve found when I actually DO have something important, I still get there on time, unrushed, and – dare I say – happier? What a concept!

In our culture where ‘being busy’ is HIGHLY ESTEEMED, where getting things done ‘FASTER! BETTER! MORE EFFICIENTLY!’ has now become the standard, perhaps we may miss the downside: more injuries. One thing I know: WHEN (not if)you slip or trip or fall and are injured, you WILL HAVE TO SLOW DOWN. But WHAT IF we CHOSE to go against the flow and – dare I say CHOOSE to slow down – to notice our surroundings? David Cassidy’s final words of, “So much wasted time” kindled something deep in me that perhaps I WAS MISSING SOMETHING… 

I would like to CHALLENGE YOU: Consider choosing to slow down. Who knows? Maybe you might find – as I have– that you not only avoid being injured because you saw something that you had time to avoid, but that this journey of life really is worth slowing down for.

​Happy New Year!  “So, what shall I write about this month,” was the droning question in my mind – I knew I wanted to tie this to the new year in a “starting fresh” approach.  Then it dawned on me!  Why not look at our chapter and evaluate how we are doing and see where we can improve in the eyes of the membership.  So, if you are reading this, please go the chapter web page at: http://www.soassp.org/ and go to the bottom of the page in the contact section and let us know where we can improve.  Some things to consider might be:

How are we doing with the newsletter? Are you reading it? Are you finding value in it?  What would make it better?  Would you be interested in helping with the newsletter?

Are you coming to our technical meetings each month for networking and learning events?  What can we do better at these meetings?
If you were King/Queen of the Chapter for a day, what improvements would you make and why?

What else can we improve on?

We feel that we are doing well and our membership is growing, but we also know that we have to seek continual improvement.    We have a very functional website.  We have a dedicated team of board members.  We have an informative newsletter.  We put on one of the best safety conferences in the region once a year.  We come up with additional learning and networking activities, and we have educational monthly meetings.  This is, of course, my point of view which may not be accurate when compared to others.  So, if you see or feel that we should consider some improvement effort, please let us know.  This is your chapter and the outstanding members of the executive board who are tasked with managing it are diligently trying to present you with the best ASSP Chapter experience possible.  Help your chapter serve you in the best way possible by letting us know your thoughts!
​
I hope to see you involved in our training meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at the Black Bear Diner!  Come early at 11:30 and spend some time networking before the presentation begins at 12:00 – 1:00.  I also hope to see your comments and your potential involvement in helping to manage the chapter activities – it is rewarding to safety professionals of all levels.  Have a safe and blessed New Year!
 

Chris Lawrence
President, ASSP – Southern Oregon Chapter


With over 20 years in occupational safety and health, Chris Lawrence is a retired US Air Force Safety Professional who is the
Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade

​I’m about to tell you something I’ve tried to keep a secret for a long time. Well, I’m glad you didn’t know this before I was the safety conference chair. But the truth is, I make mistakes. And the reality of it is that we all do.Human error is predicable. It’s repeatable. Its understandable. Unfortunately, it is also dangerous, unproductive and wasteful. Understanding this is a solid first step to preventing human error and the problems it causes.
 
The understanding of this concept is a fundamental basis of cutting-edge safety management approaches. Ever since Heinrich and his famous pyramid, we’ve known that it is those unsafe behaviors and errors that give us a glimpse into the leading indicators that can almost predict our next injury or near miss. On this concept, Behavior Based Safety (BBS) and Human and Organizational Performance(HOP) management approaches agree.
 
We should be looking for ways to understand the behaviors of everyone within an organization. Enter the theory we know as “Behavior Based Safety” (BBS).  BBS concepts have been around for a while now and we have had many more opportunities to implement them improperly. I believe that the foundational concepts of BBS are sound:

• Most incidents/injuries are triggered by unsafe behaviors.
• Addressing behavior change can solve real world problems.
• Safety partnership between management and employees that focuses attention on processes and systems creates a framework for safety success.
• Improving what people do by understanding why they do things the way they do.
• Preventing errors reduces the chances for injuries and other problems.
• Discovering root causes can help identify ways to prevent incident from happening again.

 
Somewhere along the line, the wrong message was sent. That unintended message said “your workers decisions are the reason for your problems. If you fix your workers so that they make better decisions, you will have fewer problems.” Why do we keep having to re-discover that this approach is too one dimensional to improve safety performance? Incident analysis root causes that focus on blaming the employee for making a mistake is a lost opportunity to understand the system elements that contributed to the incident.
 
In some ways Human and Operational Performance (HOP), is a response to ways that BBS was being misunderstood. Proponents of HOP and the “new view of safety” admit this. In my opinion, the foundational concepts of HOP are solid:

• Human Error is normal, and it is not a choice.
• People come to work to do good work.
• The pressure to fix a problem can outweigh the desire to learn.
• There is almost never only one root cause.
• Learning & improving is vital (Organizational learning especially).
• Blame fixes nothing (blame creates barriers to learning and is caustic to a proactive safety climate).
• Context drives behavior (Employees don’t make errors that are independent of the system, why should we analyze the error without understanding the context…).
• How leaders respond to failure is what really matters.
• Organizations and operations need to have more resiliency to error in order to be safer.

 
Studying these ideas and concepts is helpful to implementing a successful safety program. The thoughtful understanding of the maxims that these approaches teach are key to identifying how to keep people safer. Most of these approaches have a lot of overlap and common ground and have been improved over the years as they are tried. Look at companies that have tried to implement safety efforts based on BBS, HOP, LEAN or others. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Network with other companies through our monthly ASSP meetings at Black Bear Diner to get more information. Don’t forget about other Southern Oregon safety associations like the Redwood Safety Association and the Klamath Safety Group. I hope to see you at these and maybe even the Safety Summit this Spring in Grants Pass.
 
David Hanson, CSP  

​I walked around an industrial manufacturing center this week, and I asked a variety of machine operators and laborers how they were able to do such a good job of staying safe. Each of them had a very similar reply. Essentially, they conveyed that they wanted to remain free of injury for their futures and for their families. They evaluate the actions at hand and choose to work through those actions as safely as possible. They watch out for themselves and fellow teammates. Listening to them was especially heartwarming because it is the holiday season. To me, this time of year epitomizes why safety is so important. It’s a time for family, friends, and to look forward to the coming new year. 
 
One Christmas many years ago, while stationed in a foreign country, I recall sitting in an outpost at a highspeed taxiway where our Alert Fighters would scramble to escort Russian bombers through protected airspace. It was Christmas Eve, it was blowing snow, and it was -20 degrees outside. I had no heat, but I did have the finest in military cold weather garb. Still, I stood there shivering, holding my M-16, and listening to the little transistor radio that was barely working as it aired the Armed Forces Radio and Television Christmas music special. My communication mobile radio had failed because of the cold, so I had no contact with anyone. The only thing I could think of was family—who wouldn’t in such a situation and time?  Ever since, I have felt that family and family relationships are just about the most important aspects of life, and it helped me to have a deeper concern for situations that hurt or separate families.
 
So, this time of year, I always have two highlighted focuses that float in the back of my mind: 1. thinking of our military personnel stationed around the world that won’t be home with family during the holidays; and 2. thinking of the fact that we will end another year in our country where nearly 5,000 workers will not have made it home safely to their families. I know it sounds a little depressing, but I want to focus on the positive side. I am thankful for those who serve our country, and I hope it will always be a safer place because of them. I am proud of the employees who look out for themselves, and their fellow employees, for their families. I am certain the workplace will be a safer place because of them, and families will have a better chance of staying whole. 
 
As we go through the holidays and head into a new year, let’s keep those who serve in our minds—whether they are first responders or military.Find some way to show appreciation for their efforts at keeping our country and communities safe. In our workplaces, we should be building safety plans that will help make the new year a safer year to ensure we reduce the number of workplace tragedies that our country experiences each year. If our safety plans focus on creating a culture where operators and laborers automatically think of how they can keep themselves and their fellow workers safe, then we will reduce these situations that devastate families.
Happy Holidays! End the year safely, and make the new year an awesomely safe year for your teams and keeping their families whole!
 
Chris Lawrence
President, ASSP – Southern Oregon Chapter
 
​With over 20 years in occupational safety and health, Chris Lawrence is a retired US Air Force Safety Professional who is the Regional Safety Manager for Boise Cascade.

​By Jen Killpack, Safety & Workers’ Compensation Coordinator – City of Medford
 
New Year, New Changes
As the Christmas tree needles fall and the last bit of pie is devoured, we start to realize the new year is fast approaching. We ask ourselves, “What will we do differently this coming year?” Or we make statements like “This is the year I am going to lose that weight.” Rest assured, we all have goals, and there is always room for improvement, but do we ask ourselves, “What is realistic?”
 
As a lover of all things health and fitness, I, too, struggle with the above questions and statements. What has helped me to be successful at reaching my goals has been to set them realistically, and then move the mark once they are achieved. If you look at losing that 20 pounds in five-pound increments, it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. If you look at that garage that needs to be organized and divide it into sections, it doesn’t seem so massive.
 
Goal Setting: Start with a checklist of the items you want to tackle in 2020. Prioritize the list with the most important things at the top and lowest priority at the bottom. Once this is set, start looking at the goal and break it up into quarters, like the example of 20 pounds mentioned above. Assign a start date and completion date that is realistic but still provides enough pressure to stay focused.
 
If weight loss is your goal, keep in mind that two pounds a week is considered healthy weight loss. So, maybe you plan to lose five pounds a month with the achievement set for four months. To some, this might be too much time allowed to achieve the goal, but with weight loss, it is important to try to make a lifestyle change rather than using a fad diet. Now that you have a sub-goal of five pounds per month set, you might feel less stressed and making healthy decisions will be easier.
 
Make sure to reward yourself at the end of each month—small things that help support the goal are best, such as a new pair of workout pants or a set of exercise bands. Keep it healthy and find rewards that support you toward the overall goal.
What happens if you don’t reach the goal? It’s ok! Breathe, re-group and re-evaluate, and try again!
 
Let 2020 be the year of setting yourself up for success, one attainable goal at a time. This will help achieve a lifestyle based on success rather than a slippery slope of setting goals too high and not being able to achieve them.
 
Jen Killpack, City of Medford
ASSP Member