Outreach and Dissemination
News:
Photo: Boston Fire Department’s Health & Wellness Fair, left to right: Albert Rielly, MD, MPH (CHA); Kenneth Simpson (Boston Firefighter); Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser; Stefanos N. Kales, MD, MPH (CHA)
Cambridge Health Alliance’s (CHA) Occupational Health has signed a contract to provide physician services to the Boston Fire Department (BFD). On-site medical services for Boston’s Bravest at BFD headquarters will led by CHA staff physician, Albert Rielly MD, MPH. The overall program will be supervised by Stefanos N. Kales, MD, MPH, Chief of CHA’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine service, in conjunction with Dr. Rielly and BFD leadership.
According to Dr. Kales: “The new partnership with the BFD expands our deep commitment to local municipalities to help them address the specific and unique healthcare needs of their Public Safety employees. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with the BFD and City of Boston on this important project.”
CHA was chosen based on its international recognition and expertise in health issues among public safety personnel. Dr. Kales’ team holds two large grants from the US Dept. of Homeland Security examining heart health among US firefighters, and Drs. Rielly and Kales just finished updated the upcoming latest edition of the International Association of Fire Fighters’ Heart Disease Manual. To launch the new partnership with the BFD, Dr. Kales was a featured speaker on Heart Disease in the fire service at the recent BFD’s Health and Wellness Fair.
Video:
CHA/FEMA: Research and Development Improves Firefighter Safety and Health
Disaster Response: A Decade of Lessons Learned Post-9/11; The Forum at HSPH
Recognizing and Managing Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Firefighters
Popular Press:
“More Police, Fire Recruits Flunk Fitness Test.” Quoted by Chris Joyner. USA Today. 5 May 2010. USAToday.com.
“Fat Firefighters and Rescue Workers Alarm Researchers.” Quoted by Roni Caryn Rabin. The New York Times. 19 Mar 2009. NYTimes.com.
“Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters: An Update.” Stefanos N. Kales. NECOEM Reporter. Fall 2008. New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
“Firefighters’ Heart Attack Risk Soars at the Scene: Harvard Study Finds Deaths Increase Even During Less-Demanding Duties.” Quoted by Bill Dedman. MSNBC. 26 Mar 2007. MSNBC.com.
Events:
On Monday, April 29, 2013, Dr. Stefanos Kales hosted a symposium titled “Cardiovascular Physiology & Disease in Firefighting: Translating Recent Research to Clinical Practice,” in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Kales, Denise L. Smith, PhD, of Skidmore College, Dave Hostler, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, Sara A. Jahnke, PhD, of National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., and Steven Moffatt, MD, of Public Safety Medical served as faculty. The conference was a great success, with 80 participants attending from more than 5 different countries. Thanks to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the International Association of Fire Fighters, Public Safety Medical, Masimo Corporation, the Safety, Health, and Survival Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Cambridge Medical Care Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health for making this event possible with their generous support.
Click here for the symposium agenda.
Academic Presentations:
2013
Title: Translating Firefighting Cardiovascular Epidemiology into Clinical Evaluations
Type of Presentation: Presentation
Organization/Location: “Cardiovascular Physiology & Disease in Firefighting: Translating Recent Research to Clinical Practice,” symposium hosted by Cambridge Health Alliance in Orlando, FL
2012
Title: High hsCRP is Associated with Reduced Lung Function in Structural Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Poster Presentation and Discussion Session
Organization/Location: 2012 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, San Francisco, CA
2011
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters: Scientific Approaches to Causality and Prevention
Type of Presentation: Invited Occupational Medicine Grand Rounds, Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) Education Program
Organization/Location: Gage Occupational Health Unit, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Title: Physical Fitness and Cardiovascular Risk
Type of Presentation: Featured Presentation
Organization/Location: Annual Principal Investigators Meeting, Research & Development Grant Proposals in the “Assistance to Firefighter Grants” Program, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, New York, NY
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters and Law Enforcement: State of the Scientific Research and Clinical Implications
Type of Presentation: Scientific Course Session
Organization/Location: American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC), American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), Washington, DC
Title: Disaster Response: Lessons Learned Since 9/11
Type of Presentation: Expert Panel Member, Live and On-Demand Webcast
Organization/Location: The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Title: Recognizing and Managing Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Grand Rounds
Organization/Location: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
2010
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in the US Fire Service: Current Epidemiology and the Future Role of Fitness Testing
Type of Presentation: Plenary Lecture via video-link
Organization/Location: Firefighter Cardiovascular Health & Safety Research Summit 2010, Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Title: Exercise Tolerance as a Predictor of Firefighters’ Future Risks
Type of Presentation: Principal Investigator Presentation
Organization/Location: Annual Principal Investigators Meeting, Research & Development Grant Proposals in the “Assistance to Firefighter Grants” Program, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, Chicago, IL
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in the Fire Service: State of the Science
Type of Presentation: Invited Seminar
Organization/Location: Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Title: Emergency Duties and Heart Disease Deaths in US Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Invited Journal Club Presentation
Organization/Location: Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in the US Fire Service: Past, Present & Future
Type of Presentation: Invited Speaker
Organization/Location: New England College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (NECOEM), Annual Conference, Newton, MA
2009
Title: Cardiovascular Risk Stratification in Firefighters by Cardio-Respiratory Fitness
Type of Presentation: Principal Investigator Presentation
Organization/Location: Annual Principal Investigators Meeting, Research & Development Grant Proposals in the “Assistance to Firefighter Grants” Program, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
Title: The Obesity Epidemic and U.S. Emergency Responders
Type of Presentation: Plenary Talk – via video link
Organization/Location: Guidelines for the Prevention of Obesity in the Workplace, Workshop, Larnaca, Cyprus, Sponsored by the European Union
Title: Coronary Heart Disease in Firefighters: State of the Science
Type of Presentation: Grand Rounds
Organization/Location: Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Grand Rounds
Organization/Location: Department of Family Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Tufts Medical School, Malden, MA
Title: Associations of BMI with Self Perceptions of Weight Status among Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Research Presentation
Organization/Location: Obesity 2009, Washington, DC
2008
Title: Cardiovascular Risk Stratification in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Principal Investigator Presentation
Organizations/Location: Annual Principal Investigators Meeting, Research & Development Grant Proposals in the “Assistance to Firefighter Grants” Program, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC
Title: Hypertension in Police, Firefighters and Other Emergency Responders
Type of Presentation: Special Invited Presentation
Organizations/Location: Hypertension Conference, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Title: The Obesity Epidemic and Future Emergency Responders
Type of Presentation: Research Presentation, Competitive Submisssion
Organizations/Location: American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC), American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), New York, NY
Title: Cardiovascular Disease In Emergency Responders
Type of Presentation: State of the Science Review
Organization/Location: American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC), American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), New York, NY
Title: Blood Pressure in Emergency Responders: The Case for Better Control
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organizations/Location: Stroke 2008, International Conference on Hypertension, Lipids, Diabetes, and Stroke Prevention, Prague, Czech Republic
2007
Title: On-duty Coronary Heart Disease Events in Firefighters: Predictors of Fatality
Type of Presentation: Pilot Project Symposium
Organization/Location: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard-NIOSH Educational Resource Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Title: Hypertension in Emergency Responders
Type of Presentation: Grand Rounds
Organization/Location: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Title: Emergency Duties and Heart Disease Deaths in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Research Presentation
Organization/Location: New England College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (NECOEM), Annual Conference, Bedford, MA
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organization/Location: Department of Environmental Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Title: Public Safety Workers: the Case for Improved Blood Pressure Control
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organization/Location: Worklife 2007: Protecting and Promoting Worker Health: A National Symposium, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/CDC, Bethesda, MD
Title: Heart Disease in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organization/Location Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
Fire Service Presentations:
2012
Title: Public Safety Health & Wellness Update
Type of Presentation: Symposium
Organization/Location: Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA
2011
Title: Heart Disease in the Fire Service: Interacting Roles of Strenuous Duty, Aging, Lifestyle, and Fitness
Type of Presentation: Invited Plenary Speaker
Organization/Location: Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs Annual Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Title: Invited Plenary Lecture on Cardiovascular Disease and Symposium Participant
Type of Presentation: Invited Plenary Lecture and Symposium Participant
Organization/Location: The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Second National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium, United States Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, MD. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is a fire service organization working to decrease line of duty deaths and injuries in the fire service. The Foundation’s symposium seeks to identify and prioritize research needs that will ultimately lead to a safer and healthier fire service.
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in the Fire Service
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation on the Occupational Diseases Workshop
Organization/Location: Health, Safety, and EMS Conference, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), John P. Redmond Foundation, New York, NY
Title: Creating a Wellness Program for a Police Department
Type of Presentation: Invited Speaker and Panelist
Organization/Location: Massachusetts Municipal Managers Association (MMMA)
2010
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Invited Speaker
Organization/Location: Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (PFFM)
Title: Fitness & Law Enforcement: The Good, the Bad, & the Health Benefits
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organization/Location: The Annual Meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Police Physicians Section and IACP, Orlando, FL
Title: Developing a Wellness Program in a Police Department (Given with the Holden, MA Police Department)
Type of Presentation: Invited Presentation
Organization/Location: The Annual Meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Police Physicians Section and IACP, Orlando, FL
2009
Title: Cardiovascular Disease in the Fire Service: State of the Science
Type of Presentation: Invited Plenary Talk
Organization/Location: International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), John P. Redmond Foundation Symposium on the Occupational Health and Hazards of the Fire Service, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Title: Cardiovascular Disease In Firefighters: State of the Science
Type of Presentation: Plenary Talk and Panel Discussant
Organization/Location: “How to Reduce Cardiovascular Mortality in Your Fire Department,” Attended by firefighters and fire departments from across New England and NY State. Sponsored by the New England College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (NECOEM) and the Occupational & Environmental Medicine Association of Connecticut, Sturbridge, MA.
2007
Title: Heart Disease in Firefighters
Type of Presentation: Special Guest Lecturer
Organization/Location: United States Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, MD
Title: On-Duty Heart Disease in the Fire Service
Type of Presentation: Keynote Speaker
Organization/Location: First Annual Symposium on Health and Safety in the Workplace, Hellenic Fire Academy, Athens, Greece
Press Releases:
Occupational Health Event a Success
Researchers Find Majority of Fire and Ambulance Recruits Overweight or Obese
Emergency Responses Greatly Increase Risk to Firefighters of Dying on Duty from Heart Disease