Prof. Jerzy Nofer, MD, PhD - the
patron of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz
27th of August 2016 is the 100th anniversary of birth of Jerzy Nofer, the patron of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz. Professor Jerzy Nofer is a figure inextricably linked to occupational medicine and our Institute.
Establishing occupational medicine as a new medical specialization in 1958 was, to a considerable extent, thanks to Jerzy Nofer. It was him who initiated its creation, he was the author of the first specialization programmes and the system of postgraduate trainings for occupational medicine physicians. Nofer was also the originator of the first trainings for the personnel of sanitary-epidemiological services, education curricula for students in the field of occupational medicine, methodology of professional supervision over the services dealing with protection of the health of working population and methodology of preventive medical examinations in the industrial health care, which the Institute deals with to this day.
NIOM’s status of the World Health Organization Reference Center is also merit of professor Nofer. He was the author of one of the greatest achievements of the Professor and the Institute – an international program for assessment of toxicity of new substances and chemical technologies and winning its realization as part of the United Nations of Development Programme. The successful course of the program realization and its high assessment in 1975 resulted in granting the status of WHO Reference Center to the Institute. The Institute became a WHO reference center and, at the same time, Poland’s largest training center for industrial health service and sanitary service.
Professor Jerzy Nofer was a director general of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz over the years 1955-1977 with one-year break over the years 1961-62. In his honor, the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Textile and Chemical Industry was named "Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Textile and Chemical Industry" (Ordinance No. 34 of the President of the Council of Ministers of 31 October 1983).
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