[MCOH-EH] Ergonomic recommendation

[Susan L. Guerin]

Angeli,

Requests for sit / stand stations can be cumbersome and frequent... we treat this as a request for accommodation and therefore the employee needs to go through the ADA accommodation process... We give them a form that we use that requires their physician to complete the medical necessity for the request...We evaluate the completed form to determine if there is a qualifying disability... if the provider indicates the request is a preference, it is declined.  If there is a qualifying disability and there are restrictions, i.e. can only sit for 20 minutes, need to change position frequently, we evaluate the restrictions against the functional demands that are in place for the job.  If the restrictions are within the expectations of the position and the work allows for the restrictions, or can be met another way, we deny the request and offer a different solution.  If the functional demands are impacted by the restrictions and the sit/stand station is an acceptable accommodation we approve.  We have several different models of sit/stand that we purchase.  The Varidesk is frequently a good solution to provide the sit stand flexibility at a more reasonable price but it is not our only solution.

In the instances where the request is denied, or the employee knows they do not have a disability, the employee is told they may speak with their manager to determine if there are funds within the budget to cover the request outside of the ADA process.  Some managers do have funds to support these types of requests but most defer to the ADA process.

Functional Demands for us are a pivotal component for all of our work in EHS here at MaineHealth. Every restriction and request for accommodation is objectively measured against the functional demands for the position the employee works in.  Every post offer evaluates the candidate against these demands.  The candidate also reviews the functional demands and identifies their ability to perform the job with or without accommodation.   Our return to work note form is written in this same language to assist the RNs with evaluating restrictions and works great when it's used.

Our Ergonomics team has also created a force guide to assist managers and staff with understanding how restrictions impact their work and when leaders are completing new forms they can correctly identify the proper level.



Susan L. Guerin-Staples MSB, FACHE
Senior Director
Employee Absence Management & Health Services
Maine Medical Center / MaineHealth
Ph: (207) 662-6280
Fx: (207) 761-3083

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