The University of Iowa Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence (HWCE) in the College of Public Health will host its "Total Worker Health Symposium: Safe, Healthy and Cost-Effective Solutions" Nov. 29-30 at the Marriott Hotel in Coralville, Iowa.

James Merchant

“The symposium will address issues of immediate concern to Iowa workers and employers—how to make the workplace safer and healthier, how to increase productivity and how to control health care costs,” says James Merchant, HWCE director and professor of occupational and environmental health.

A central theme for the symposium is the introduction of the concept of Total Worker Health, a strategy from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance health and well-being.

Merchant notes that the conference will bring together national experts from across the country, from federal government agencies, as well as from Iowa. The event features research presented by each of the four National Institute for NIOSH Total Worker Health Program Centers of Excellence, representatives from NIOSH, and an Iowa panel on providing affordable health care for Iowa employers and employees.

“This panel discussion could not be more timely as Iowa employers seek guidance on how best to control health insurance costs as the Affordable Care Act is implemented over the next two years,” says Merchant.

More information regarding the “Total Worker Health Symposium: Safe, Healthy, and Cost-Effective Solutions,” including registration information, can be found on its website. Additional questions may be sent to Jenny Hall, HWCE Outreach Director, at jennifer-l-hall@uiowa.edu.