# Presentation: 411381

##  Safety and Health Manager’s MeetingMarch 4, 2002

- The Occupational Health Handbook
- What is it and Why Should you Care?
- Catherine M. Angotti, R.D., L.D.
- Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer

## Health Handbook, NPG 1800.1

- Tying the Handbook to Mission
- The long torturous route to become an NPG
- Yes, it’s almost here
- Do any of our customers care?
- What do the policy makers think?
- What it IS and What it is NOT
- Content and organization

## NPG 1800.1

- Tying Handbook to Mission
- (Where the rubber meets the road)
- 	Our mission is to ensure the physical and mental health and well-being of NASA employees in all environments.
- Establish requirements and standards for health and medical practice
- Develop health and medical policy
- Provide oversight of health care delivery and professional competency

## NPG 1800.1Program Goal 

- Assure a safe and healthful workplace
- Integrate regulatory requirements and best practices for occupational health
- Promulgate NASA policies to ensure a healthy work force
- Monitor compliance with NASA policies
- Conduct training and audits to improve worker health and safety
- Continuously improve ethical practices

## NPG 1800.1

- NASA Occupational Health’s primary customer is the NASA workforce
- Primary activities
- OCHMO
- Policy Development through requirements & best practices integration
- Budget Advocacy
- Oversight, monitoring and review
- Quality assurance and continuous improvement

## NPG 1800.1

- NASA Occupational Health’s primary customer is the NASA workforce
- Primary activities
- Principal Center
- Policy implementation
- Budget execution
- Review and monitor programmatic performance through periodic assessments
- Provide Center support & training via regular conferences and consultations

## NPG 1800.1

- The route to becoming a NPG
**OHP policy documentation tree proposed in 1999**
**Original proposal included 5 NPDs and 11 NPGs**
**After negotiations, 5 NPDs and 4 NPGs approved**
- NPG 1810.1, Health Services for International Travel or Assignment
- NPG 1820.1, Hearing Conservation
- NPG 1840.1, Workers’ Compensation Program
- NPG 1800.XX, Occupational Health Program Handbook
- Contains applicable O_x0008_HP operational program guidance based on policy articulated in NPD 1800.2A
- Comparable to NPG 8715.1, Safety & Health Handbook,  which is based on policy in NPD 8710.2B

## NPG 1800

- Yes, It’s (almost)finished!
- Original due date 1/22/02
- NODIS allows 30 days for entry of comments and another 30 days for the originator to disposition comments
- Barely half of all comments were received by originator’s dispositioning deadline
- Enterprises failed to consolidate Field comments
- Extension granted to 2/22/02
- Received only one formal non-concurrence
- New deadline met
- Awaiting final NODIS review before Administrator’s signature

## NPG 1800

- Who Cares?
- What our customers had to say
- 43 pages of written comments; 396 total comments submitted excluding purely format type
- Some comments editorial in nature, but many offering substantive enhancement or clarification were incorporated
- Numerous changes made post September 11 in several areas including emergency medical response to terrorism and critical incident debrief.

## NPG 1800

- What the policy makers had to say
- NASA Directives Management, Office of Management Systems (Code J) praised handbook as a model for handling multiple complex procedures
- 3 out of 4 Code J Divisions respond with commendations
- ISO Program Office sites numerous process flow charts as the appropriate process guidance to be used Agency-wide to facilitate consistency
- Handbook commended for the inclusion of expanded OHP responsibilities under Code AM and for the consolidation of all previous NHSs

## NPG 1800

- What it IS and What it is NOT
- The OHP Handbook is a “best practices” document providing guidance to occupational health professionals in fulfilling our mission to protect the physical and mental well-being of employees in all environments.
- The Handbook expands, supports, and provides implementation guidance for the five overarching OHP NPDs.

## NPG 1800

- What it IS and What it is NOT
- Procedures and practices regulated by law, e.g. exposure limits, surveillance exam criteria, are not waiverable via this document.
- Variance from unique NASA-developed standards for which there are no OSHA standards will only require approval within NASA (OCHMO).

## NPG 1800

- Content and Organization
- Chapters organized according to five parent NPDs
- Chapter 2, Occupational Health Program, NPD 1800.2A
- General program support. Health promotion and wellness, quality assurance, records management
- Chapter 3, Occupational Medicine, NPD 1810.2A
- Clinical services, physical examinations, emergency services, infection control
- Chapter 4, Environmental Health, NPD 1820.1A
- Regulatory compliance, exposures, ergonomics, radiological health, etc.

## NPG 1800

- Content and Organization
- Chapters organized according to five parent NPDs
- Chapter 5, Employee Assistance Program, NPD 1830.1A
- Key program elements, workplace violence, domestic violence, critical incident stress debrief
- Workers Compensation Program, NPD 1840.1A
- Management of injuries and illnesses and interagency reporting