UIC center elevates care, compensation for Midwestern coal miners 

Black lung disease “isn’t what we were taught in medical school,” said Dr. Robert Cohen, a clinical professor at the UIC School of Public Health. “It’s a tragedy, because it is incurable and completely preventable at the same time.” 

Cohen directs the Mining Education and Research Center, which engages in research, education, training and clinical services for coal miners locally, nationally and internationally. The center’s Black Lung Clinic, which connects current and former miners to care and benefits, received a five-year, $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to continue this care. 

“Black lung is not a disease relegated to the history books,” Cohen said. “Black lung disease is a problem, and it’s getting worse. We’re thankful for the opportunity to continue our outreach with miners.” 

Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as black lung disease, encompasses the many diseases caused by inhaling coal mine dust, silica dust and other contaminants in mines. Cohen, a recognized expert on black lung disease, began studying and treating the condition almost 40 years ago.  

In the late 1980s, most of Cohen’s patients were former coal miners who had migrated from Appalachia to Chicagoland and started experiencing symptoms as older adults. Now, his clientele is much the same, albeit markedly younger, he said.  

“People used to think it was only after 30 to 40 years of work you’d get these diseases, but modern technology has caused a younger population of workers to be affected,” he said. “The leading edge is creeping younger and younger, and clinics are needed now more than ever.” 

The center’s Black Lung Clinic screens current and former coal miners for black lung disease. Counselors support miners as they apply for lifelong federal benefits and navigate the labyrinthine application process. The diagnostic and treatment clinic is located at Northwestern Medicine’s downtown hospital. 

“Coal miners are incredibly vulnerable to abuse from employers who have used them up and spit them out in terms of providing compensation,” said Kirsten Almberg, an epidemiologist and the director of research and evaluation at the center. “Coal miners’ jobs pay for their kids’ colleges, their homes, cars, et cetera. They are hit hard when they can’t continue to earn.”  

Almberg leads the MinER Center’s research arm: the Black Lung Data and Research Center. That center received a five-year, $675,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to study best practices and protocols for treating black lung disease. Data from clinics across the U.S. is funneled back to UIC for analysis and reporting. 

Refreshed funding for both clinical and research services will support the MinER Center’s efforts to connect miners with black lung disease to physical and financial care. 

“There are still active coal mines in Illinois and Indiana,” said Leonard Go, the MinER Center’s assistant director. “Connecting folks like us with coal miners who could benefit from understanding black lung disease is important. We as caregivers have a responsibility to provide care to vulnerable populations, and this is no exception.” 

He said the project exemplifies compassionate patient care. 

“People love that you know a lot, but they also want to know that you care about them,” said program manager Dolores Weems. “And that is the thing that I think that shines through to me and why I work with this group, because I know that they actually care about the miners and that they see them as people.”