Lezah Brown, PhD, MSPH, CHSP

Lezah Brown, PhD, MSPH, CHSP

Health and Safety Officer

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location of Lezah Brown, PhD, MSPH, CHSPMatteson, Illinois, United States

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    Healthcare Operations Executive | Operational Leadership & Administration - Safety & Risk Management – Strategic Vision & Planning

  • Education

    • University of Illinois Chicago

      -
      PhD Environmental, Occupational, Health & Safety

      Ph.D. in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

    • Purdue University

      -
      B.S. Environmental Health Sciences / Indutrial Hygiene

      Activities and Societies: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Jahari Dance Troupe

    • University of Illinois Chicago

      -
      MS Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences

      Thesis: Investigation on Sampling Performance of Thoracic Size-Selective Sampling Devices. Thesis Chair: Serap Erdal, PhD

  • Experience

    • Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati

      Jul 1995 - Aug 2000
      Health and Safety Officer

      Led health & safety program for regional hospital with 10,000+ employees in three states. Performed routine audits and reporting results. Achieved zero penalties following federal / jurisdictional compliance inspections during tenure. Prepared staff for two JCAHO cycles at main campus and 3 satellite clinics. Led three staff and $300K budget.

    • School of Public Health

      Aug 2000 - Aug 2009
      University of Illinois at Chicago

      Took research and training sabbatical to obtain Masters and Doctorate degrees in Public Health. Simultaneously served as Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Pre-Doctoral Fellow and Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois. In addition, trained construction workers on proper use of personal protective equipment; researched effectiveness of OSHA training delivered by labor unions; and facilitated industrial hygiene monitoring equipment for wood working shop. List of additional projects upon request. Show less

    • University of Illinois System

      Sept 2001 - Aug 2009

      The Illinois Public Health Research Fellowship Program (IPHRFP). Projects included:• Testified at the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda hearings about the impact of occupational psychosocial issues on occupational injuries and illnesses. • Organized, managed and performed daily tasks for research project designed to address the effectiveness of six commercially available thoracic size selective samplers.• Collected and maintained research data for a research project designed to train Latino day workers and data on peer-delivered OSHA training in Latino construction workers.• Submitted funding grants for research to National Institutes of Health as well as the local Educational Research Center. • Coordinated and collected data on the effectiveness of OSHA training delivered by Labor Unions, funded by the Center for Construction Research and Training.• Participated and presented in interdisciplinary research forums relevant to integrating occupational health into the public health agenda.• Researched psychosocial issues relating to occupational injuries, illnesses, and assaults vulnerable populations in a subgroup of a nationally representative research population.• Trained and used SAS and SPSS to perform statistical analyses on a nationally-representative database of working individuals.• Member of Epidemiologic Emergency Preparedness Group of the School of Public Health. Show less Epidemiologic Study of Recreational Use of the Chicago Area Waterways Participated on research team which collected water samples in the waterways in and around ChicagoRecruited and interviewed study participants for the study whereas personal data was collected as well as information pertaining to health and recreational waterway usageTransported water samples to laboratory personnel for water sample analysesPerformed duties of field data manager which ensured that field personnel appropriately captured research data in computerized interviewsTransported research laptops to the Survey Research Laboratory so that research data could be downloaded from individual laptops into the master databaseParticipated and completed human subject training provided by the institutional review board at the University of Illinois at Chicago Show less

      • Post-Doctoral Fellow

        Nov 2007 - Aug 2009
      • Pre-Doctoral Fellow

        Jan 2005 - Nov 2007
      • Research Assistant

        Sept 2001 - Nov 2007
    • Illinois State University

      Aug 2009 - Aug 2012
      Assistant Professor

      Teach Occupational Safety and Health issues comprised of governmental policy, company policy development/research. Design and present curriculum on OSHA, EPA, DOT and other federal regulations, as well as on performing investigations and risk assessments. Additional topics include Safety Technology, Hazardous Materials Regulations, Safety in Society, and Aspects of Professional Safety Practice. Also advised federal agencies on granting millions of dollars for research in public health, and shaped occupational health public policy to improve protection of vulnerable populations. Show less

    • American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)

      Jan 2010 - Jan 2013
      PCC Co-Chair
    • American Public Health Association

      Jan 2010 - Jan 2013
      Governing Councilor - OHS
    • Loyola Medicine

      Jul 2012 - May 2014
      Director, Environmental Health and Safety

      ✰ Managed 13+ employees, unifying 2 hospitals, 20+ clinics, and 7,000+ staff under one health and safety program. Maintained reports for government agencies.

    • Honeywell

      May 2014 - Jun 2016
      HSE&F Site Leader

      ✰ Hired to ensure the safety of visitors and 122 employees and sub-contractors across various departments at the Albuquerque site, which included 2 plants and an airport hangar. Managed a multimillion-dollar operating budget and a multi-faceted Health, Safety, and Environmental Engineering team with 9 direct and 40 indirect reports supporting the Integrated Supply Chain, Engineering, and Commercial Electronics Manufacturing groups. Oversaw the safe operation of critical facilities that produced classified aerospace defense parts. Show less

    • Cook County Health

      Jul 2016 - now

      Function as the VP of Safety and chair the Environment of Care committee, managing the health and safety of employees in 2hospitals, 15 community-based ambulatory clinics, and all facilities. Oversee and direct a multimillion-dollar operating budgetthat supports facilities and construction management and environmental and occupational health compliance programsconcerning air and water emissions in a multi-facility healthcare system.Highlights:▪️ Implemented OSHA-compliant Respiratory Protection Program, fit-testing 8000+ staff without transmission during thepandemic. Addressed supply chain issues by acquiring additional respirators from 2 companies.▪️ Executed a relocation plan for multiple departments vacating newly sold buildings, ensuring efficient space management onthe healthcare system's main campus.▪️ Restored and safeguarded a previously abandoned ambulance bay, upgrading the entrance, lighting, fire suppression, and EDrooms, ultimately increasing inpatient population by 100% and revenue system utilization in 1 hospital.▪️ Prepared for and maintained regulatory compliance, resulting in less than 25 non-serious citations for a large hospital and asuccessful Joint Commission survey for a smaller hospital.▪️ Monitored 6 capital project contracts, ensuring project completion was timely and budget compliant in multiple sitessimultaneously. Show less

      • Safety Management Officer

        Sept 2021 - now
      • Director, Life Safety

        Jul 2016 - Sept 2021
  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP)

      International Board for Certification of Safety Managers
    • Certified Healthcare Facilities Manager

      American Hospital Association