Welcome to SHERM
EHS Main Office 713-500-8100 (answered M-F, 8:00AM-5:00PM CST)
EHS Hotline 713-500-5832 (after hours, weekends, holiday for the on-call safety specialist)
For Emergencies, Dial UT Police Dispatch 713-792-2890 or 911
Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management’s (SHERM) mission is to work in conjunction with the UTHealth community to ensure that education, research, and health care service activities take place in conditions that are optimally safe and healthy for all students, faculty, staff, visitors, surrounding community and the general public.
Put simply, we exist to help people go home as healthy and safe as they arrived.
Our main office is located at the Operations Center Building (OCB 1.330) and we can be reached at 713-500-8100 or Fax 713-500-8111.
In the May 2023 issue of Professional Safety, the monthly journal by the American Society of Safety Professionals', Robert Emery, Dr.P.H., CSP, Scott Patlovich, Dr.P.H., CSP, and George Delclos, Ph.D., M.D. were featured for UTHealth Houston's Holistic approach to Total Worker Health. Featured in the journal as a Best Practice article the authors chronicle the approach, the systems, and philosophy behind the approach to keep everyone safe and healthy as they go about their day at the University. For more information, please select the link.
The Legendary Safety Bob, no really, he's legendary....
The Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (CSHEMA), an organization that serves health and safety professionals that work in higher education, has honored one of our own Robert Emery, DrPH, with Legendary status among safety professionals. Known around campus as "Safety Bob", perhaps "the Legendary Safety Bob" might be a better nickname. Either way, we would like to congratulate him for this recent honor. You can find more information about the Legendary Safety Bob from Inside UTHealth Houston recent article by Faith Harper.
For the latest information on COVID-19 and returning to campus go to: https://inside.uth.edu/covid-19/faq. To check the local COVID-19 community levels from the CDC please go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html.
New Home for Employee Health Services
For 30 years Employee Health has served the employees of UTHealth Houston at University Center Tower 16th floor. On March 28th Employee Health opened at its new location in UTHealth Professional Building Suite 100. The new location provides an on-site pharmacy and convenient parking to employees that may need to use Employee Health Services.
What services are provided to UTHealth Houston employees?
Pre-placement employee screenings
Immunizations
TB testing
Laboratory testing at hire
Fitness-for-duty exams
Workplace exposure evaluation
Workplace injury evaluation and return-to-work exams
Workers' compensation and follow-up
Bloodborne pathogens exposure evaluation and follow-up care
COVID-19 testing and return-to-work recommendations
Contact information
UTHealth Professional Building
6410 Fannin, Ste 100
Houston, TX 77030
Hours of operation Monday-Friday 7 am to 4 pm
713.500.3267
https://www.uthealthservices.com/
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) and Facilities, Planning & Engineering (FPE) have partnered to help educate research staff on the safe and energy efficient use of chemical fume hoods within our UTHealth laboratories. Here is why we care about the chemical fume hood sash height:
For safety:
When using a fume hood, keeping the sash height at the designated height (which is clearly indicated by a bright yellow sticker) helps protect users from potentially dangerous chemical fumes and splashes.
For energy conservation:
Fully closing the fume hood sash when not in use, or at the end of the day after use, helps to save a considerable amount of energy.
Did you know?
- A single open fume hood consumes as much energy as 3.5 residential homes!
- Closing the fume hood sash helps to reduce the amount of air exhausted out of the building, therefore reducing the amount of air that must be conditioned within the lab space by the building’s HVAC system.
- Energy savings = cost savings for UTHealth!
We now have the capability to remotely monitor chemical fume hood performance, so don’t be surprised if you see a friendly EHS or FPE staff member coming by your laboratory to provide a reminder about keeping the fume hood sash closed when not in use.
Thank you for doing your part to work safely and energy efficiently!
Reminder about PPE use:
This is a reminder to all research personnel that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should not be worn outside of the laboratory setting. Recently there have been instances of people observing researchers wearing in public spaces, specifically using gloved hands to open doors or push elevator buttons. After all, do you really know where that glove has been?
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Please do not wear gloves or other PPE outside of the laboratory, especially on elevators, in hallways, or in break rooms. |
If it is necessary to transport items between labs on the same floor, one hand may be gloved, while the other hand remains without a glove to open the doors between labs. Gloves should never be worn in the elevator or break rooms. Ideally items should be transported using carts and secondary containment, especially when transporting items between floors.
Insider Threat Awareness at UTHealth
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Reporting behaviors of concern is vital to protecting the University's intellectual property, it's safety and future. |
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Initial Lab and Bloodborne Pathogen's Safety TrainingOnline only until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic |
Annual Lab and Bloodborne Pathogen's TrainingOnline only until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic |
Basic Radiation Safety TrainingJanuary 11-12, 2023 |
Infectious Substance Shipping TrainingOnline only until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic UTPhysicians Training |
Questions regarding training or University Online Learning platforms?
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