[MCOH-EH] Fit for Work MCOH-EH Digest, Vol 242, Issue 3

[Chow, Curtis - MMCR]

It's an additional cost but I whole heartedly recommend Fit For Work as part of your pre-hire, post-offer employee health assessment. We do not want to discriminate but we want to ensure that our employees can safely work in their environment. We do a fit for work on ALL employees. I also recommend having a certified FFW or FCE group/person do this. We outsource this to a local PT clinic that does a wonderful job. Our policy is that everyone gets one. Management can request one on any existing employee they feel is unsafe to work. Basic job descriptions are given to the PT clinic that states every job title's physical requirements. They test accordingly. Candidates are allowed to retest on an individual basis, i.e. HR high because they drank too much coffee or retest lifting capacity because they strain their back that weekend doing yard work. If they fail HR is notified. There are rare times when a failure is evaluated by Sr. Management and allowed to take the job (i.e. CLS are super hard to get around here). I recommend using an outside source so there isn't a conflict of interest and there isn't additional work burden on EH/PT. Regarding studies, etc I would refer you to the place that trained me to be an ergonomist. It's the same place that the physical therapist all got certified in FCE and FFW. They have free online seminars specific to FFW/FCE http://www.roymatheson.com/training/fce

Curtis

Curtis Chow
Coordinator, FNP, PA-C, COHN-S, CEES, CSPHP 	
Employee Health Dept		

Mercy Medical Center Redding  	
A Dignity Health Member		
2175 Rosaline Ave. Redding, CA. 96001 				
530-225-6193 (O)			
530-526-5150 (M)			
530-225-7281 (F)

Curtis.Chow at DignityHealth.org

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Subject: [MCOH-EH] info re: Fit for Duty related to WC costs

Does anyone have any studies and/or anecdotes re: pre-employment Fit for Duty (the basic 15" kind where the employee picks up boxes, etc according to job desc, ensures they can squat, etc) and the potential for reducing WC injuries by doing these pre-employment? As most clinics/hospitals do, our employee population is aging and getting heavier. It seems that many of them can't bend to empty a Foley never mind the risk of running to codes, getting down on floor to do CPR, lifting/transferring/repositioning patients all day long, etc. It also seems that once I begin treatment of the injuries, there have been more pre-existing issues to deal with than in the past. I am trying to justify a $40 Fit for Duty exam as part of our pre-employment process.

Any thoughts on the matter, studies, or personal experiences would be appreciated.

Kim Thompson RN, BSN
Employee Health Nurse Manager
Medical Center of McKinney
4500 Medical Center Drive - MOB, Suite 105
McKinney, TX     75069

972- 540- 4218 (phone)
469 - 713- 8660 (fax)

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