Integrating innovation into occupational evaluation to adjust to the changing healthcare workforce

Author's Biography

Jamal Khan , MS, is the Director of Operations for HR Connect and HR Compliance at Mayo Clinic, where he has been employed for six years. Mr Khan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Science in Information Communication & Technology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Concordia University, Chicago. Before joining Mayo Clinic, he held various roles within various higher educational institutions. Mr Khan is a Mayo Clinic Silver Quality Fellow.

Rebecca Ashbeck , MAN, RN, has been employed at Mayo Clinic for ten years. She has nursing experience in the inpatient medical and obstetrical environments and outpatient occupational practices, with the most recent five years in nursing leadership. Currently, she is a Nurse Manager for a Mother/ Baby Postpartum unit at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Ms Ashbeck received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 2012 from Viterbo University. In 2019, she graduated with a master’s degree in nursing with a Nursing Transformational Leadership focus from Augsburg University. Ms Ashbeck has published and presented at the local and national levels. She received the Excellence in Teamwork Award in 2020 and is a Gold Mayo Quality Fellow.

Laura Breeher , MD, MS, MPH, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2013. Currently, she serves as a consultant in the Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine. She is the Medical Director for Employee Occupational Health Services and the Section Chief for the Occupational Medicine Clinical Practice at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr Breeher is the Chair of Mayo Clinic’s Enterprise Occupational Health Specialty Council. In addition, she chairs Rochester’s Safe Patient Handling Committee and the Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Reduction Subcommittee. Dr Breeher is principal investigator and co-medical director of the Minnesota Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury and Illness Network (RETAIN) programme to assist the workforce in staying at work and returning to work after illness and injury.

Melanie Swift , MD, MPH, is Vice Chair, Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine, and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science. She also serves as Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Physician’s Health Center and as Associate Medical Director of Employee Occupational Health Services at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Prior to joining the Mayo Clinic, in 2017, Dr Swift spent 17 years as the Director of Occupational Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She has chaired the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s (ACOEM’s) Medical Center Occupational Health (MCOH) Section, is one of the authors of ACOEM’s ‘Guidance for Occupational Health Services in Medical Centers’ and serves as Course Director for ACOEM’s biennial CME course ‘Medical Center Occupational Health Basics’. Dr Swift is a national leader and public speaker in the field of Medical Center Occupational Health and is an authority on vaccination, infectious exposure management and other programmes for healthcare personnel.

Caitlin Hainy , APRN, CNP, DNP, is a licensed Family Nurse Practitioner in the Division of Occupational Health Services at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She graduated from Winona State University in 2018 with her Doctor of Nursing Practice. Ms Hainy holds the academic rank of Instructor of Medicine in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. As a Nurse Practitioner, she specialises in Preventive and Occupational medicine with a primary focus on managing a wide range of patient populations, including preventive health screenings, occupational health management, department of transportation (DOT) exams and primary care management for both acute and chronic illness. She has worked in Occupational Medicine for over 13 years and has contributed to many project improvements and institutional implementation for several occupational health programmes, including infectious disease, new hire assessments, blood and body fluid exposures, animal allergy surveillance and several other programmes contributing to the health and safety of healthcare personnel.

Heidi Shedenhelm , DNP, RN, has been employed at Mayo Clinic Rochester since 1999. She became a Nurse Administrator in 2015, supporting the Medical III Division, including Infection Prevention and Control, Employee Health Services, Infectious Disease, Occupational Medicine Practice, Hyperbaric Chamber, Allergy Lab and Rheumatology. She has served in the staff RN, Nursing Administrative Specialist, Instructor of Nursing, Nurse Manager and Nurse Administrator roles at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Ms Shedenhelm graduated from the University of Iowa in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She received a Master of Science degree from the University of Iowa in Nursing in 2008. She also received a DNP, Health Systems Administrations degree from the University of Iowa in 2014. Ms Shedenhelm has a strong interest in system enhancement, leadership development, quality improvement activities and legislative topics. She is board certified as a Nurse Executive (NE-BC) and holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Nursing College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. She is a Silver Mayo Quality Fellow and received the Excellence in Teamwork Award in 2006, 2008 and 2020. Ms Shedenhelm has also presented regionally and nationally. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the Association of Occupational Health Professionals.

Chris Tommaso Christopher Tommaso, MS, is the Administrator for the Division of Occupational Health Services (OHS) and the Division of Community Occupational Medicine at Mayo Clinic. He is also an Instructor in Health Care Administration in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Before he joined Mayo Clinic, Mr Tommaso worked in various engineering and management roles for a large chemical manufacturing company. He earned his master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.