As 2022 winds down, it’s a good time to summarize some of the major accomplishments at AIHA this past year. Below are AIHA’s top 22 achievements of 2022, organized by the five domains of our strategic plan.

Community

1. Offered active military members discounted AIHA membership.
2. Held a successful PSX 2022 for the Product Stewardship Society in Louisville, Kentucky, with over 200 registrants.
3. Launched new Thermal Stress and Dermal and Surface Sampling Working Groups and the Pr(IH)de SIG.
4. Collaborated with allied associations, including the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and all 13 of the Commit to C.A.R.E. partners.

Awareness

5. Secured an additional $110,000 cooperative agreement grant from CDC NIOSH to develop more knowledge products for small businesses to learn about airborne transmitted diseases and indoor air quality during pandemics.
6. Launched Commit to C.A.R.E., a public awareness initiative aimed at small businesses about pandemic prevention and control; and translated The Role of an Industrial Hygienist in a Pandemic into Spanish (PDF).
7. Added resources on rail transportation to workerhealthsafety.org.
8. Attained member retention at an all-time high (90 percent compared to the national average of 80 percent).

Advancement of Knowledge

9. Held a successful hybrid AIHce 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, with nearly 3,500 onsite attendees and a thousand more online.
10. Launched the Defining the Science Advisory Group, formed the new Research and Development officer position for all technical committees, and expanded awareness about our OEHS research agenda to NIOSH.
11. Developed a free comprehensive course, Making Accurate Exposure Risk Decisions, to help OEHS professionals prepare for the Exposure Decision Analysis Registry exam.
12. Selected a new JOEH Editor-in-Chief, Mike Larrañaga, PhD, CIH.
13. Awarded 12 Emerging Economies Microgrants, thanks in part to generous support from Amazon.

Integrity of Professional Practice

14. Launched Standards of Care, State of the Art vs. Practice, and Improving Exposure Judgments initiatives, including a free course on making accurate exposure risk decisions through which attendees can earn eight contact hours.
15. Launched a new AIHA Proficiency Analytical Testing program on airborne particulates.
16. AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs LLC is now recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to accredit food labs under FDA’s Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Food (LAAF) Program.
17. Built an online suite of free IH e-tools.
18. Launched our new Resources for Academics web portal.
19. Secured a $10,000 contribution from the American Chemistry Council to support the AIHA Guideline Foundation ERPG program.

Advocacy

20. Executed the public policy agenda selected by members: increase the number of OEHS professionals in the United States; increase the knowledge and skills of OEHS professionals in the U.S.; increase public awareness of the roles and value of OEHS professionals in the U.S.; and increase protections for workers in the U.S. from the risk of OEHS hazards.
21. Garnered the support of some 350 members to author government relations documents such as a request for information from EPA on recommendations to improve the IAQ of buildings, among other topics (PDF).
22. Joined the [Re]Build America’s Schools Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC) to promote healthy schools.

Bonus: Four Grand Challenges were identified, which AIHA will strive to fulfill in the coming decade.

As we get ready to turn the page to 2023, I’d like to extend a sincere thank-you to the volunteer leaders of our extraordinary organization, without whom none of these achievements would have been possible. Whether you’re a member of the Board of Directors or a volunteer group, an author or peer reviewer for The Synergist, an AIHA webinar presenter or a speaker at the AIHce Nexus lounge—no matter how you invested your time, you have helped raise the bar for the profession.

Best wishes for a safe, healthy, and joyous holiday season.