[MCOH-EH] Return to Work

[Swift, Melanie]

We have the same approach as Warner. Functional early return to work is associated with so many good outcomes - faster recovery, better job satisfaction, lower cost, to name a few. We have an early return to work program and policy that requires supervisors find transitional duty in their department, and we have a nurse who facilitates creative solutions when there's not obvious transitional duty. We also use our ergonomic nurse to find creative solutions. Now that the policy is part of the culture, it is almost unheard of to have a nurse on work restrictions who can't contribute in a meaningful way during their recovery.

Same as Warner, we don't require passing a lift test, but leave the determination of work restrictions to the treating provider. We have a lift box and dynamometer also for our clinicians to use as needed.

Melanie Swift, MD
Director, Vanderbilt Occupational Health Clinic
http://occupationalhealth.vanderbilt.edu

From: MCOH-EH [mailto:mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net] On Behalf Of Hudson, T. Warner
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 12:36 PM
To: MCOH/EH
Cc: Corrington, Jodie; Black, Patti
Subject: Re: [MCOH-EH] Return to Work

We allow anyone injured to return to work within their restrictions if transitional duty is available, in fact we strongly encourage it and help find people work outside of their department. A good example is that many of our nurse vaccinators at the flu season mass events are nurses on modified duty (we gave >15,000 flu vaccine in about 3 weeks).   We generally do not do a functional left test but the providers who set restrictions may use in clinic weighted boxes to help set or refine lifting limits when indicate and they are not sure at what poundage to set restriction and providers also sometimes use push/pull dynamometers to set restrictions.
Warner

T. Warner Hudson, MD FACOEM, FAAFP
Medical Director, Occupational and Employee Health
UCLA Health System and Campus
Office 310.825.9146
Fax 310.206.4585
Pager 800.233.7231  ID 27132
E-mail twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu<mailto:twhudson at mednet.ucla.edu>
Website www.ohs.uclahealth.org<http://www.ohs.uclahealth.org>

From: MCOH-EH [mailto:mcoh-eh-bounces at mylist.net] On Behalf Of Fowler, Randy
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 10:24 AM
To: 'mcoh-eh at mylist.net'
Cc: Corrington, Jodie; Black, Patti
Subject: [MCOH-EH] Return to Work

We have a hospital policy that states an RN on modified duty cannot return to his/her unit until he/she is released to Full Duty and has passed a Lift Test.   I am interested in #1 whether other health care systems have experience with allowing those injured nurses to be able to return to their own units as long as they are able to work within their accommodations and #2 do other healthcare systems utilize a Lift Test or other functional job evaluation before allowing the injured employee back to Full Duty?

Thanks, I have enjoyed following the interchange of information on this Occ Med network.

Randall S. Fowler, MD
Medical Director
Portneuf Medical Center
Employee Health & WorkMed
500 S. 11th  Suite 500
Pocatello, Idaho 83201
208-239-1940 clinic / 208-239-4506 fax
Randall.Fowler at portmed.org<mailto:Randall.Fowler at portmed.org>


Confidentiality Notice: This email message and any attachments from Portneuf Medical Center, its subsidiaries and affiliates, are confidential and for the sole use of the intended recipient. This communication may contain privileged, proprietary, or confidential information (i.e., including Protected Health Information), which may only be used or disclosed in accordance with applicable law.  If you are not the intended recipient of this email or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the communication to the intended recipient, then you may not read, copy, distribute or otherwise use or disclose the information contained in this message. If you received this message in error, please notify us by an email to Postmaster at portmed.org<mailto:Postmaster at portmed.org>.  Please indicate that you were not the intended recipient, and confirm that you have deleted the original message  and any attachments as well as any printed copies.  Please do not retransmit the contents of the message. Thank you.

________________________________

IMPORTANT WARNING: This email (and any attachments) is only intended for the use of the person or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. You, the recipient, are obligated to maintain it in a safe, secure and confidential manner. Unauthorized redisclosure or failure to maintain confidentiality may subject you to federal and state penalties. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify us by return email, and delete this message from your computer.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mylist.net/archives/mcoh-eh/attachments/20160112/08cc9116/attachment.html>