rehabilitation & therapy
WORK INJURY
The Outpatient Physical Therapy department at Trinity Health has a number of services to help area businesses and to assist in the quick and effective rehabilitation of injured workers. These services can assist in keeping worker's compensation premiums and claims at a minimum and help to promote a healthy, safe working environment for employees. Available Services:
In addition, Trinity also offers work injury case management services through their Work Injury Management department. When a worker is injured on the job, it creates a great deal of uncertainty. When will the worker be back? Our goal, at Trinity Health, is to remove this uncertainty. Our programs are designed to quickly return injured workers safely to their jobs. Our nurse case managers will communicate directly with you. The worker will feel confident in his or her progress and will be prepared to return to work. Instead of allowing the injured worker to stay home feeling useless or depressed, we have designed a step-by-step process to return the person to productive work. Our system can cut the number of days lost to job-related injuries and decrease long term costs. Productive work is a primary source of self-esteem. Studies show that people fare better mentally and physically when back on the job quickly. Co-workers form a strong social network, helping coach injured workers to better health. And work-oriented therapies help people focus on progress rather than pain. Relief from discomfort becomes a means to the end, rather than the end itself. The back to work philosophy seems to create a new challenge for physicians, employers and patients: deciding when and how to return an injured person to work. The WIN Program answers the dilemma by removing the guesswork. Trinity's WIN Department believes in case management delivered through timely services and appropriate communication between medical providers, employees, and employers. This coordinated effort by both parties assures reduced injury, reduced lost work days and reduced work injury costs. Our goal as your Work Injury Management team is to help you prevent injuries and to manage disability while containing costs. Please call us at 701-857-5269/5441 for more information or to discuss work injury concerns. Back School Low back pain will affect nearly every worker at some point in their lifetime. The peak occurrence is during the most productive working years (between the ages of 20 to 50 years). Billions of dollars are spent each year to treat back conditions and billions more are lost secondary to the decline in productivity of the worker. Fortunately, most of these injuries are preventable. It has been estimated that only one out of nine back injuries are the result of trauma. The remainder are caused over time by the cumulative effects of awkward posture, incorrect lifting, declining fitness levels and poor work habits. Trinity's Back Education program is designed to provide the worker with training on injury prevention techniques such as basic anatomy and physiology, proper posture, proper lifting techniques, and basic principles of exercise and ergonomics. This information enhances the employee's understanding of the potential need for changes. It is our goal to provide the worker with all the necessary information to work safely at home and at work. Cumulative Trauma Disorders Prevention Program In the past decade, significant technological advancements have resulted in progressive reliance on computers and automated machines in the work place. This has allowed employees to become much more productive, yet these changes int he work environment have also made it necessary for job tasks to become more specialized. This specialization of the employee often means that more and more time of each day is spent performing the task over and over. The repetitive nature of some job tasks has resulted in an increased incidence of Cumulative Trauma Disorders. Employers spend billions of dollars each year treating cumulative trauma disorders. Cumulative trauma disorders include any category of chronic musculoskeletal injury affecting tendons, nerves, muscles, or bones of the neck, arm, or hand. Risk factors include repetitive motion, sustained posture, awkward posturing or positioning, or use of excessive force. It is the most common injury noted in the office worker. Trinity's Cumulative Trauma Disorders Prevention Program is designed to reduce the worker's risk for developing an injury. A work site analysis identifies individual job risk factors in the actual work setting. The employer receives clear, concise, written recommendations to address each particular risk identified. Education is done on the particular risk identified. Education is done with the employees and supervisors regarding work station set up, biomechanics, ergonomics, and prevention strategies, which allow the employer to take an ongoing proactive role in injury prevention. For more information on Cumulative Trauma Disorders Prevention, Back School, or other educational programs and services, call Trinity Outpatient Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine at 701-857-5286. If you have any further questions or comments, please call 701-857-5286. Ergonomics & Work Site Analysis The Institute for Rehabilitation and Disability Management estimates the cost of disabled employees at nearly $40 billion annually in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that American companies can expect a lost day injury of 14.2 days for every 100 workers employed. Often, these injuries are caused by accidents. But in many cases, they can be caused by daily job requirements as well. Ergonomic injury claims (back, neck, arm/hand) are epidemic. Costs are out of control. Stronger OSHA enforcement looms. Repetitive lifting or twisting, inadequately designed workstations and other physical job requirements can all cause injury and contribute to lost workdays among employees. Trinity's WIN program offers a cost-effective answer to your ergonomic claims problems. Our injury preventive services are designed to predict and remedy likely causes of injury or hour's problems in workstations and to reduce the probability of occurrence or of reoccurrence. A work site analysis can be used by employers who are interested in evaluating specific jobs and worksites to imporve the efficiency of the workforce and reduce the risk of employee injuries. The analysis is conducted by a physical therapist or an occupational therapist who has been trained in human neurophysiology with a strong emphasis on task analysis and practical problem solving. The analysis includes ergonomics (the study of the design of the work in relation to the physiological and psychological capabilites of the individual) and assessment of job demands in terms of activity, posture or movement involved and frequency of occurrence. Work heights, angles and physical relationships are also measured. This data is then combined with data on the patient's physical capacity and recommendations are made for changes. Often, these recommendations include modification of the employee's work habits and/or work station to better accommodate the patient's physical abilities. They can also include ideas for custom adaptations that allow the employee to perform specific job-related tasks. For more information on these or other preventive services (i.e. cumulative trauma or back education), call Trinity Health at 701-857-5286. Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) Trinity's Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) helps take the guesswork out of returning an injured employee to work. The FCE provides physicians, employers, employees, and rehabilitation specialists with concrete objective answers regarding an injured worker's ability to return to the workplace in a safe and timely manner. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide objective and comprehensive information to all members of the occupational health team regarding the employee's physical function. The employee's maximum capability to perform job-related tasks, such as lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, crawling, kneeling, stooping, sitting, standing, reaching, etc., are evaluated by a physical or occupational therapist. The FCE is conducted over a two-day period and involves up to five hours of assessment. This allows for evaluation of fatigue, checks for the consistency of performance, and provides information on the client's strength, related joint problems, range of motion, fine and gross motor coordination, and safety skills. A written FCE report provides specific, objective, and accurate information concerning work abilities and limitations. Specific recommendations regarding modifications, for work tasks as appropriate are included in the written report. If a written job description with specific and objective essential functions of the target job is provided to the therapists, a direct correlation can be drawn between an injured worker's physical abilities and the demands of the specific target job. The report is available to the referring physician, the employer, the employee, and the vocational rehabilitation consultant. The report is available to other providers for whom a release has been signed. The FCE test items are uncomplicated, yet have been proven as valid indicators of an employee's physical ability. The results of the FCE are admissible as evidence in a court of law. Anyone may request an FCE. However, a physician's prescription is required for administration of the test. An FCE candidate should be past the acute injury stage and have no medical contraindications for reaching a physical maximum on testing task items. If an employee is not a candidate for an FCE, Trinity offers other services to objectively assess a client's ability to return to the work place. A modified lift test is available to quickly and inexpensively check a clent's ability to perform a specific job at the work place. The goal of Trinity's Outpatient Physical Therapy and Work Injury Management team is to provide objective, clear, comprehensive, and accurate information of the client's abilities and limitations to allow for a safe and timely return of the employee to the work place. For more information on FCE, please call 701-857-5286. Work Hardening/Work Conditioning Work hardening is a highly individualized and structured functional training program designed to assist with the return to work process of an injured worker following stabilization of the acute injury. The client is referred to this program because his current abilities are less than the demands of his work. Trinity's work hardening staff utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach that involves the employee, the employer, physical therapists, athletic trainers, the treating physician(s), the Work Injury Management nurse, the vocational rehabilitation consultant, the claims analyst, and other medical personnel as appropriate for the client. The work hardening program will consist of progressive individualized exercise, general conditioning, individualized job-specific work task simulation, and education regarding a variety of topics (i.e. injury prevention, safe work habits, biomechanics, principles of exercise, stress management, techniques for self pain management, etc.). As a person's fitness level improves so will activity and task tolerances. The goal of the work hardening program is to maximize physical function, thereby allowing a safe return to work. Upon entry into the program there is an accurate and complete evaluation of a client's current physical requirements of the job to develop a plan of treatment. The treatment plan is specific to the needs of each individual client based upon their physical abilities, deficits, and their job, as well as any possible confounding issues. Throughout the program the client is expecte to play an active role in the program. Team members perform routine reviews of the client's progress. Throughout the program, abilities and limitations are compared with the physical job requirements. The ultimate goal for all members of the work hardening team is a safe expedient return to work. For more information, call Trinity's Outpatient Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine department at 701-857-5286. Work Injury Management Outpatient Physical Therapy
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