By Frank H. Leone, NAOHP Executive Director
As I write this piece – 25 years to the day since I established RYAN Associates in September 1985 – a myriad of clichés fill my mind: To name a few: “Where did the time go?” “It has been quite a run.” “It is the people, not the program.” “Regrets, I have a few, but then again too few to mention.” “Who would o’ have think it?”
When I think of these past 25 years, a lightning-fast retrospective runs through my mind like a film reel as I think about the thousands of wonderful people I have met, worked with (both within and beyond RYAN Associates), and befriended over these past 9,131 days. I have waxed nostalgically about our national occupational health family in previous anniversary missives, so I’ll ease up on that now and focus on more tangible results.
My first exposure to occupational health occurred when I read a journal piece toward the end of my master’s in public health studies in 1981. I realized that if public health is all about enhancing the health of large populations, then the workplace, with its large captive audience, would be a logical venue for such outreach. Acting on this belief, I helped start an occupational health program in Massachusetts shortly thereafter and launched RYAN Associates three years later.
Beyond striving to make the company financially viable and well respected, my over-arching goal has consistently been to encourage hospitals, health systems, and clinics to define occupational health in a broad manner by using their workplace connections as an opportunity to educate and screen patients, prevent injury and illness, and reach out to workers and their employers in a noble, progressive manner.
Like anything else worthwhile, progress toward this end has been slow at times. Old habits, such as segmenting service lines and positioning them as stand-alone entities rather than as part of an integrated whole, seem to die hard. But when evaluating progress over a quarter of a century, one sees things more clearly. The concept of what constitutes an effective occupational health program has changed markedly during my time in the industry – and it will continue to evolve.
Dedicating my career to the nation’s public health using occupational health as the vehicle for outreach is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I look forward to many more years in the industry.
