Our Mission
The mission of the High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS) organization is to reduce and ideally eliminate accidents, injuries, diseases and deaths resulting from agricultural operations through education, intervention and research.
HICAHS was established in 1991 through a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a non-enforcement research and service arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Located on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, Colorado, HICAHS is a multi-disciplinary organization with input from a variety of areas including engineering, industrial hygiene, education, toxicology, social work, epidemiology, environmental health, and agricultural sciences. The HICAHS center is one of ten national centers dedicated to agricultural health and safety. All ten centers are identified on the map below.
Why HICAHS?
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States based on NIOSH statistics. In a typical year, approximately 800 individuals lose their lives while working in U.S. agriculture. An additional 150,000 suffer debilitating injuries and illnesses, and a large number of deaths due to occupational disease go unreported. Alarmingly, large numbers of farm accidents involve children. All of these deaths and disabilities greatly affect the social and economic well-being of rural communities in the region. Because of these factors, there is a need for HICAHS.
What can HICAHS do for you?
Based upon available resources, HICAHS is ready to assist you with a variety of free and confidential services such as:
- Public presentations
- Providing educational materials for children and adults
- Train the Trainer Workshops
- Assistance with selection of protective equipment and other safeguards
- On-site Hazard Evaluations
- Recommendations and evaluations of Hazard Control Methods
- References and resources in an up-to-date lending library
- Innovative and cost effective methods for improving agricultural health and safety