Cory Worden, Ph.D. (ABD), M.S., CSP, CSHM, CHSP, ARM, REM, CESCO, is host of the ASSP Healthcare Practice Specialty's Healthbeat podcast, which aims to educate OSH professionals, healthcare professionals and others interested in workplace safety in the healthcare industry. In each episode, subject matter experts discuss safety improvements to protect those providing care to others.

Speaking about what inspired him to start the podcast, Worden says that the ASSP Healthcare Practice Specialty Advisory Board is always brainstorming different ways to deliver safety information to members. They have increased their production of webinars, communicated through the ASSP Community forum as well as the group's LinkedIn page, and relaunched their Healthbeat publication. "With these moving forward, several of our advisory board members noted how podcasts are helpful and entertaining for them as a way to listen while working or driving, so we began discussing a podcast," Worden says.

Worden says the goal with the podcast is to create episodes with several different formats. These include "panel discussions about different hazards and best practices, human interest pieces about different safety professionals and their experiences, open discussions about ASSP activities and current events, and more," he says.

Worden describes a few examples that the group has produced thus far. "We've had really fun episodes with healthcare leaders such as Holly Bollin and Dr. Bird, the team at Akron Children's Hospital discussing ergonomics; ASSP leaders such as Brandon Hody, our Public Sector Practice Specialty Administrator; and safety professionals such as Dr. Amber Mitchell discussing needlestick prevention and bloodborne pathogen exposure prevention, and an upcoming episode with Dave Thomas of REPSS discussing respiratory protection," he says.

Sharing plans for future episodes, Worden describes a few upcoming topics he's excited about, including a collaboration with another organization, the Association for Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare. Worden says listeners should also look forward to "a fun episode exploring safety from Jeff Neumann, [who is] a rock band tour manager [for bands such as] The Descendents, Less Than Jake, Bouncing Souls, Sparta and many more, and how they plan for safety with potential workplace violence, fire hazards, driving safety, fatigue prevention, wellness and more. All topics and hazards that apply to healthcare safety."

The format is aimed at making the information accessible to all listeners. "We're hoping the podcast format will allow our listeners to check out the podcast while driving, working or other times when they can't read the Healthbeat [newsletter] or view a webinar," Worden says.

Beyond enjoying the podcast, Worden hopes the podcast inspires members to learn more about the healthcare sector. "We have many more [episodes] planned and are always interested in ideas on topics, guests and anything that would be of interest to our audience," he says. "Likewise, if anyone is interested in being a guest, we'd love to hear from them!"

Listen to the podcast.

Photo 1: Todd DeVoe answers questions on Episode 2, "EM and Healthcare."
Photo 2: Cory Worden works on editing the podcast at his workstation. 

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