For Immediate Release: November 2004
Contact: Barbara Lechner
E-mail: info@caohc.org

NEW REPRESENTATIVES JOIN CAOHC COUNCIL

Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- The Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) approved these new Council Members on their board of directors. CAOHC has been a leader in providing standards for occupational hearing conservation since its inception in 1973. CAOHC's main objective is to promote the conservation of hearing by enhancing the quality of occupational hearing programs. Currently there are over 21,000 CAOHC certified occupational hearing conservationists trained through CAOHC Course Directors to protect the hearing health of workers in industry and mining.

New Council Members who joined the Council at their October 2004 board meeting held in Chicago, Illinois:

Diane S. DeGaetano, RN BSN CAT COHN-S
Ronald D. Schaible, CIH CSP PE (Mass.)
Thomas L. Hutchison, MA MHA FAAA CCC-A

Ms. DeGaetano, who will serve as a representative for the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN), holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Georgia State University and is certified as a Occupational Hearing Conservationist. She is employed with Merial, Limited, as the Occupational Health Manager for North America and assists with medical surveillance, managing ergonomics programs, facilitating Health Promotion Programs, managing Health Safety and Environmental Programs for her colleagues. Ms. DeGaetano also speaks at national conferences on hearing conservation and acts as an instructor in CAOHC courses for audiometric technicians. She was recently awarded AAOHN Atlanta, Georgia Chapter Nurse of the Year.

Mr. Schaible, as a representative for the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), is the Practice Manager for Environmental and Occupational Health, Safety and Human Factors for Robson Forensic, Inc., a forensic engineering and expert witness firm headquartered in Lancaster, PA. He obtained his BS degree from Drexel University, and a MS in Environmental Health from West Chester University. Mr. Schaible has over 30 years of insurance, manufacturing and consulting experience and he is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, Registered Professional Safety Engineer, and Certified Human Factors Professional. He has investigated and/or provided engineering solutions for occupational and community noise exposures for a wide array of commercial and industrial clients.

Thomas L. Hutchison, is a representatives for the Military Audiology Association (MAA). He is the audiologist and supervisor of the Navy's Hearing Conservation and Audiology Department at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth , NH and Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, ME. Prior to his duties in New England he worked for the Navy in Philadelphia and the Army in Belgium and Germany. Mr. Hutchison is a past president of the Military Audiology Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Federal Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (AFASLP). He is a Board Certified audiologist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. He is a past recipient of the Elizabeth Guild Award for Contributions to Military Hearing Conservation and a frequent presenter at the Navy Environmental Health Center annual conference. Mr. Hutchison received both his BS and Masters in Audiology from Kent State University and a Masters of Health Care Administration from the University of New Hampshire.

Continuing on the Council are:
James D. Banach, MBA, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); Paul J. Brownson, MD FACOEM FAAFP, American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM); Elliott Berger, MS INCE, Bd.Cert., American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); Robert D. Bruce, PE INCE.Bd.Cert, Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE); David Chandler, PhD, Military Audiology Association (MAA); Beth A. Cooper, PE INCE.Bd.Cert, Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE); Richard W. Danielson, PhD, American Academy of Audiology (AAA); John H. Elmore, MA MBA , American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE); Donald Henderson, PhD, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); Mary M. McDaniel, MS CCC-A, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); Peter M. Rabinowitz, MD MPH, American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM); Gayle S. Rink, MS RN COHN-S, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN); Theresa Y. Schulz, PhD; Mark Stephenson, PhD, American Academy of Audiology (AAA); Peter Weber, MD, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS).

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