Research, Innovation & Impact

What we do

Mandated by federal requirements, the primary goal of MU’s OHSP is to evaluate and address potential health risks to you that may be associated with your use of animals or pathogens in the research environment. 

• The OHSP is under the supervision of MU's Animal Care Quality Assurance (ACQA) office and Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC).
• Our program is required for those working directly or indirectly with research animals, their tissues or fluids in laboratory or agricultural settings.
• Office of Animal Resources (OAR) staff and principal investigators (PI) or protocol associates on an ACUC protocol or an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) protocol are required to enroll in the OHSP.
• CAPSafety is a committee for animal personnel safety (CAPS) that helps prevent injuries to animal users at MU. We are a source of information for health and safety issues. We also address concerns related to animal care and use.

Report an injury

This form should be completed for all employees injured on the job. The supervisor should complete the report within 24 hours of employee's injury.

How to enroll

Login to your eCompliance OHSP main page. 
 
Here you are able to create/update your Hazard Evaluation Form (HEF), complete your HIPAA-protected Confidential Health Questionnaire and complete the required online OHSP training. The OHSP Nurse Practitioner will evaluate job hazards and medical information in order to create a comprehensive, individualized risk assessment and vaccination recommendation. Once completed, your Risk Assessment will be viewable via your eCompliance main page.
 

1. OHSP Hazard Evaluation Form (HEF)
   1. Individuals need only one HEF for ALL animal work, update it to reflect ALL job duties.
   2. If at any time your job duties, animal exposures or medical status changes, you are responsible for letting us know by updating your information in eCompliance.
   3. HEF for someone else? (Supervisor should complete HEF if employee is unsure of their future job duties).
      1. From your main page, select “Create HEF for new associate.”
      2. Enter the PawPrint or email address of the employee or student and click “Add Employee.”
      3. Once the user has confirmed (via system email) that you may act on their behalf, they will be listed as your employee and you will be granted access to create/edit their HEF.
2. OHSP Confidential Health Questionnaire (CHQ)
   1. This form is HIPAA-protected and can only be viewed by the enrollee, the OHSP Nurse Practitioner and/or Physician.
   2. The information provided will assist the OHSP Nurse Practitioner to more accurately assess your risks and provide you with an individualized Risk Assessment.
3. Occupational Health & Safety Training
   1. Choose the best fit for you from our categories: Lab, Wildlife, or Agricultural.
   2. Takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

 
Your OHSP professionals will then evaluate the job hazards along with your medical information in order to create a comprehensive medical risk assessment and vaccination recommendation.  Once completed, your Risk Assessment will be viewable via your main eCompliance page.

You will receive messages from eCompliance in your MU campus email throughout the enrollment process, prompting you to complete steps along the way and confirming your submissions.

What if I have changes?

When your job duties, medical status or exposures change, you’re required to update those in eCompliance. Any follow-up discussions or visits with the OHSP Nurse Practitioner will be determined based on your individual risks, vaccinations, boosters and/or titer checks. 

Visitors 

If you plan on working with an MU researcher who works with animals, their tissues or fluids, please contact us. You can complete our visitor’s form if you are enrolled in an Occupational Health & Safety Program at your primary institution.