​​​​​The Division of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS) wants to salute the professionals who are making a difference in safety in their organizations by awarding the NIH Mission First Safety Always Award to individuals chosen by their peers as promoting safety, changing their safety culture, and going above what is expected to keep their peers and areas safe. 

The winner for the NIH Mission First Safety Always Award is Mr. Nathan Marchiano, section lead for Emergency Release drills, Clinical Center (CC). 

He was nominated by Ms. Patricia Buziak,  Clinical Center. Patricia submitted examples of how Nathan promotes safety as an important part of their program and works diligently to correct unsafe and/or unhealthy workplace conditions every day. One example of the many examples submitted by Patricia explains how Nathan, as the section lead for Emergency Release drills (Emergency release of blood products by passing normal channels), sets up drills, coordinates staff involved in drills, participates in the drill, and writes a summary of the drills for the section team leads. Patricia cites that Nathan's work has led to better knowledge of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) during an emergency, improved response times, and an improved state of readiness during an emergency. Thank you for all you do Nathan. Congratulations!

The runners-up for the NIH Mission First Safety Always Award for 2021 are Mr. Woody Inscoe, Office of Research Facilities (ORF) and Mr. Marvin Coates, ORF. Well done!

We would like to give special mention to Mr. Dave Berry, contractor, ORF and Mr. Brian Jones, ORF, and Mr. Russell Mason, ORS Division of Amenities and Transportation Services, who were also nominated by their peers for this award. Thank you!

This award recognizes those who demonstrate leadership, innovation and involvement in their organization's safety culture. We look for people who go above and beyond in involving their organization in safety practices and those who make safety a prominent part of their program. The participants will receive a certificate of award from DOHS, their names will appear on the DOHS website, and the names will be seen in different NIH publications. Thank you for making safety an integral part of your work. 

All nominations received by DOHS went through an anonymous review process which included blind scoring without identifying information. The criteria used in reviewing the nominations submitted include the following items:

• Promote safety as an important part of their program(s)
• Show leadership attributes that set the nominee apart from his or her peers
• Initiate and/or lead a successful safety initiative in their program(s)
• Engage peers, and transform the safety culture of the group
• Works to correct unsafe and unhealthful workplace conditions or hazards in their area​​​