Advancing Workforce Health at the Department of Homeland Security

Advancing Workforce Health at the Department of Homeland Security PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780309296472

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The more than 200,000 men and women that make up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workforce have been entrusted with the ultimate responsibility - ensuring that the homeland is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards. Every day, these dedicated individuals take on the critical and often dangerous challenges of the DHS mission: countering terrorism and enhancing national security, securing and managing the nation's borders, enforcing and administering U.S. immigration laws, protecting cyber networks and critical infrastructure, and ensuring resilience in the face of disasters. In return, DHS is responsible for protecting the health, safety, and resilience of those on whom it relies to achieve this mission, as well as ensuring effective management of the medical needs of persons who, in the course of mission execution, come into DHS care or custody. Since its creation in 2002, DHS has been aggressively addressing the management challenges of integrating seven core operating component agencies and 18 supporting offices and directorates. One of those challenges is creating and sustaining a coordinated health protection infrastructure. Advancing Workforce Health at the Department of Homeland Security examines how to strengthen mission readiness while better meeting the health needs of the DHS workforce. This report reviews and assesses the agency's current occupational health and operational medicine infrastructure and, based on models and best practices from within and outside DHS, provides recommendations for achieving an integrated, DHS-wide health protection infrastructure with the necessary centralized oversight authority. Protecting the homeland is physically and mentally demanding and entails many inherent risks, necessitating a DHS workforce that is mission ready. Among other things, mission readiness depends on (1) a workforce that is medically ready (free of health-related conditions that impede the ability to participate fully in operations and achieve mission goals), and (2) the capability, through an operational medicine program, to provide medical support for the workforce and others who come under the protection or control of DHS during routine, planned, and contingency operations. The recommendations of this report will assist DHS in meeting these two requirements through implementation an overarching workforce health protection strategy encompassing occupational health and operational medicine functions that serve to promote, protect, and restore the physical and mental well-being of the workforce.

A Ready and Resilient Workforce for the Department of Homeland Security

A Ready and Resilient Workforce for the Department of Homeland Security PDF

Author: Committee on the Department of Homeland Security Workforce Resilience

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-12-10

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0309289475

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The responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) range from preventing foreign and domestic terrorist attacks; securing the nation's borders; safeguarding transportation systems; responding to natural disasters; nuclear detection; and more. Created in 2002 from a merger that rapidly incorporated parts of eight cabinet departments and 22 government agencies, DHS has struggled to integrate its numerous components and their unique cultures. While DHS is very accomplished at performing its many missions, the nature of the DHS work environment is inherently stressful, and employees suffer from low morale. A Ready and Resilient Workforce for the Department of Homeland Security: Protecting America's Front Line reviews current workforce resilience efforts, identifies gaps, and provides recommendations for a 5-year strategy to improve DHSTogether, the current DHS workforce resilience program. This report stresses the importance of strong leadership, communication, measurement, and evaluation in the organization and recommends content for a 5-year plan that will promote centralized strategic direction and resource investment to improve readiness and resilience at the department. While all DHS component agencies share a common mission, each have distinct roles with different stressors attached, making implementation of an organization-wide resilience or wellness program difficult. The recommendations of A Ready and Resilient Workforce for the Department of Homeland Security outline how DHS can focus its efforts on creating a common culture of workforce readiness and resilience, while recognizing the distinct, proud, celebrated cultures of its component agencies.

Transforming Government Organizations

Transforming Government Organizations PDF

Author: Ronald R. Sims

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 1681234572

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In 2010 IAP released Change (Transformation) in Government Organizations, edited by Ronald R. Sims. This well-received volume described how organizational change methods can be used effectively to make government organizations more effective and efficient and better equipped to serve a demanding citizenry. The 2010 book brought together contributions by managers, practitioners, academics, and consultants in the study of international, federal, state, and local government efforts to respond to increased calls for change (transformation) in public sector organizations. Since the release of the 2010 volume, calls for government transformation have continued and intensified, and a number of fresh ideas and examples have been generated from the field. The time is now ripe for a follow-up volume laying out innovative, successful ideas for transforming government. Transforming Government Organizations: Fresh Ideas and Examples from the Field is that follow-up volume. A collection of fresh contributions such as those included in this book will add to the growing knowledge base of what does—and what does not—work when transformation efforts are attempted in government organizations. The contributors to this new volume are experts with extensive experience as change agents in government and other organizations. They provide analyses and discussions of specific cases and issues as well as practical tools, ideas, and lessons learned intended to guide those responsible for similar efforts in the years to come. The audience for the book are government managers, scholars, and others interested in undertaking or learning about such efforts.

Integrating Employee Health

Integrating Employee Health PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2005-09-29

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0309096235

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The American workforce is changing, creating new challenges for employers to provide occupational health services to meet the needs of employees. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workforce is highly skilled and competitive and employees frequently work under intense pressure to ensure mission success. The Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer at NASA requested that the Institute of Medicine review its occupational health programs, assess employee awareness of and attitude toward those programs, recommend options for future worksite preventive health programs, and ways to evaluate their effectiveness. The committee's findings show that although NASA has a history of being forward-looking in designing and improving health and wellness programs, there is a need to move from a traditional occupational health model to an integrated, employee-centered program that could serve as a national model for both public and private employers to emulate and improve the health and performance of their workforces.

Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management?

Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management? PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2020-10-21

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0309677351

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Headlines frequently appear that purport to highlight the differences among workers of different generations and explain how employers can manage the wants and needs of each generation. But is each new generation really that different from previous ones? Are there fundamental differences among generations that impact how they act and interact in the workplace? Or are the perceived differences among generations simply an indicator of age-related differences between older and younger workers or a reflection of all people adapting to a changing workplace? Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management? reviews the state and rigor of the empirical work related to generations and assesses whether generational categories are meaningful in tackling workforce management problems. This report makes recommendations for directions for future research and improvements to employment practices.

Returning Individual Research Results to Participants

Returning Individual Research Results to Participants PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-09-23

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0309475171

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When is it appropriate to return individual research results to participants? The immense interest in this question has been fostered by the growing movement toward greater transparency and participant engagement in the research enterprise. Yet, the risks of returning individual research resultsâ€"such as results with unknown validityâ€"and the associated burdens on the research enterprise are competing considerations. Returning Individual Research Results to Participants reviews the current evidence on the benefits, harms, and costs of returning individual research results, while also considering the ethical, social, operational, and regulatory aspects of the practice. This report includes 12 recommendations directed to various stakeholdersâ€"investigators, sponsors, research institutions, institutional review boards (IRBs), regulators, and participantsâ€"and are designed to help (1) support decision making regarding the return of results on a study-by-study basis, (2) promote high-quality individual research results, (3) foster participant understanding of individual research results, and (4) revise and harmonize current regulations.

Advancing Oral Health in America

Advancing Oral Health in America PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-01-05

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 0309186307

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Though it is highly preventable, tooth decay is a common chronic disease both in the United States and worldwide. Evidence shows that decay and other oral diseases may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. However, individuals and many health care professionals remain unaware of the risk factors and preventive approaches for many oral diseases. They do not fully appreciate how oral health affects overall health and well-being. In Advancing Oral Health in America, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) highlights the vital role that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can play in improving oral health and oral health care in the United States. The IOM recommends that HHS design an oral health initiative which has clearly articulated goals, is coordinated effectively, adequately funded and has high-level accountability. In addition, the IOM stresses three key areas needed for successfully maintaining oral health as a priority issue: strong leadership, sustained interest, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders from both the public and private sectors. Advancing Oral Health in America provides practical recommendations that the Department of Health and Human Services can use to improve oral health care in America. The report will serve as a vital resource for federal health agencies, health care professionals, policy makers, researchers, and public and private health organizations.

Putting People First

Putting People First PDF

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Homeland Security. Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Managing the Department of Homeland Security

Managing the Department of Homeland Security PDF

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13:

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