Diane Blackburn worked as a radiation therapist for more than 25 years before her father’s health changed the trajectory of her career. He was in his trade only 13 years before he was diagnosed with asbestosis. Twenty-three years later, after an initial misdiagnosis, asbestos-related mesothelioma was confirmed. Blackburn treated him for three years before he passed away in 2005. His illness and death led her to realize that, as a union pipefitter, neither her father, nor his trade, knew a great deal about asbestos-related diseases and how to prevent them.
Blackburn set out to educate workers like her father and created Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists, leaving her job as a radiation therapist in 2011 to focus on this mission. Since then, the company has helped SMOHIT answer SMART members’ questions about the Health Screening Research Program process. Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists began working with SMOHIT in an official capacity on Jan. 1.
“There really needed to be someone who was the go-to person, when, once you registered, a contact person would follow up and make sure you could take the next step, guiding them through the screening process and answering any questions regarding results. Offer further guidance for medical and legal resources,” Blackburn said. “For anything they need, we’re their go-to for anything regarding the screening.”
Some members were confused when faced with a diagnosis, and changes to the screening program led to even more questions. Before additional members begin to go through the new Health Research Screening Program, working with Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists was a proactive measure, said Jeff Bradley, program administrator for SMOHIT.
“With Diane’s background, in radiation and with building trades unions, she can answer many of the questions members have about the screening better than anyone,” he added. “We want to make sure members are getting the most out of this screening, and in order to do that, we needed the best support to guide them through it — and now we have that support.”
Once members are approved through the system to undergo a screening, they will receive a confirmation email as well as a personal email from Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists with Blackburn’s contact information.
“Sometimes, they just need to talk to a real person,” she said. In recent years, members with questions were passed to Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists for answers. “It’s almost a continuation of what we’ve been doing.”
Coming from a union family, Blackburn chose to work with unions, to educate members about asbestos exposure, as a testament to her father. Her next goal is to increase the number of members who take advantage of the Health Research Screening Program benefit and expand the program to teach members about other asbestos-related hazards.
“You have this to use. Let’s use it,” she said of the program. “It’s for you.”