UW Employee Health Center

Animal use medical screenings (AUMS) are performed for select animal researchers and individuals who enter the vivarium for their job.

The screening includes establishing a baseline for allergies, medical, ergonomic conditions to name a few. 

Visit the AUMS webpage for more information.

An audiogram is a type of hearing test that looks for hearing performance.

Work groups that are included in this type of screening are UW disaster response teams, such as the Pre-Entry Assessment Team, and the UW Police Department.

Supervisor/manager/PI referral is required for these services.

Other types of screenings/counseling/education for individuals working with animals may include respirator medical clearance, laboratory animal allergies, required immunizations, TB screening, and disease-specific training (e.g., Zika, Toxoplasmosis, Q-Fever or Vaccinia education/counseling). Clearance requirements are based on risk. 

Requires referral by supervisor or manager

The purpose of a medical screening and clearance for respirator use is to ensure that you can safely wear a respirator at work. 

A medical evaluation and clearance is not required for voluntary use of respirators.

Visit the Respiratory Protection webpage for more information.

Spirometry is a type of screening test that measures how much air your lungs can hold and how fast you can blow the air out.

This type of test is typically done for scuba, asbestos, silica, disaster response team exams, and the UW Police Department,

Vision services measure visual acuity.

Work groups that are included in this type of screening are disaster response team members, such as the Pre-Entry Assessment Team, and the UW Police Department.

Act fast:  Immediately stop what you are doing and wash affected area.  Follow your exposure protocol.

If exposed by needlestick, cuts, or other puncture type of injuries or bites, scratches, pinches that bruise skin or break skin: Immediately use scrub kit and clean for 15 minutes.

If splash to eyes, nose, mouth, or other mucous membrane: Go to nearest eye was station and irrigate for a full 15 minutes.

After cleaning the site for 15 minutes, notify your supervisor who will direct you to the UW Emergency Department. 

Your supervisor/PI should help you get in contact with veterinary support that will conduct a health assessment of the animal and collect any needed samples to help determine level of risk from exposure.

Submit a report of the incident within 24 hours to Environmental Health & Safety via the UW’s Online Accident Reporting System (OARS).

Refer to the instructions on the Bloodborne Pathogens webpage.

Starting on January 1, 2025, we are on the 6th floor of the Gateway building located at 

4320 Brooklyn Ave NE

Suite 602 / Box 354990

Seattle, WA 98105

The Gateway building is on Brooklyn Avenue NE between NE 45th and 43rd Streets above the Sound Transit Link light rail station.

View directions, parking, and public transit options.

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday

If a University employee has a work-related injury, illness, or exposure, they should seek care at the UW Medicine Medical Center or call UWMC Emergency Medical Services at 206.598.4000.

Most services are billed to the employee’s unit or department (except for blood pressure screenings). You need permission from your supervisor to access most UW Employee Health Center services.

To ensure our clients are safe at work: this is done by reviewing the staff member’s work group and role, along with items that may put them at risk for injury/exposure, such as different pathogens or chemicals or work-related activities that may increase their risk for disease/illness injury. Immunizations, medical surveillance, medical management for work activities, along with education are a few ways the UW Employee Health Center protects the health of staff and students.    

Non-work-related acquired illness/disease/injuries should be evaluated by the client’s personal healthcare provider. 

The UW Employee Health Center works closely with other EH&S teams to accomplish our mission of keeping you safe at work.

The Research Occupational Health webpage contains important safety information for those working in research at the UW: it is highly recommended researchers visit this webpage and become familiar with its contents. 

Injury

Injured employees can call us at 206.685.1026 immediately following an incident. We can provide first aid and a brief assessment of the injury, and then refer the employee to another healthcare facility for more complete medical attention. If an injury occurs outside the UW Employee Health Center's business hours, the employee should seek care at a healthcare facility in the community, such as the UW Medical Center. If it’s an emergency, the employee should call 9-1-1.

Bloodborne pathogen exposure

Any UW employee with a possible bloodborne pathogen exposure should contact the UW Employee Health Center at 206.685.1026 to be evaluated as soon as possible.

If the exposure occurs outside the UW Employee Health Center's business hours, contact the nearest hospital emergency department, which may be located at either the UW Medical Center (206.598.4000) or Harborview Medical Center (206.744.3081).



Visit the Bloodborne Pathogens page for more information.

As a service to the UW community, the UW Employee Health Center offers free blood pressure screenings for UW staff and faculty.

Please call ahead to arrange an appointment any time during business hours at 206.685.1026.

We recognize our responsibility for safeguarding the privacy of your health information. Your information is stored on a protected and secured Occupational Health Manager system (hosted by UW Medicine) for tracking and medical surveillance purposes. The Occupational Health Manager system protects the privacy of employee health records in accordance with federal and state regulations.

For information regarding use and disclosure of protected health information maintained in your employee health record, you may view the Washington state codes that govern employee health information at WAC 296-802 and RCW 70.02.