COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Workplace Safety Programs

Choice therapists, skilled and trained in the area of biomechanics and movement, provide onsite consulting services to businesses and industries with the objective of improving the interface of the employee and his workplace in order to minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Therapists will come onsite to evaluate the workstation and provide immediate recommendations and education regarding appropriate remediation techniques to the employees and supervisors. The evaluation will be followed by a written comprehensive report, which includes digital photographs to enhance the educational process.

Ergonomic Prevention Education

Choice Physical Therapy provides educational programs to businesses and industries concerned about maintaining a safe & productive work environment. Provided onsite to groups of employees of 15 to 20, therapists provide instruction and written materials, plus active exercises to enhance the employees understanding of ergonomics and how to minimize the risk of injury as they interface with there own workstation. These programs are specifically tailored to the business requesting the program and deals with actual worksite issues and workstations found in that environment.

The Back Education Program and Upper Extremity Education are two of the more popular Ergonomic Programs requested.

Designing Functional Job Descriptions

Choice Physical Therapy consults with business and industries regarding the design and implementation of ADA compliant Functional Job Descriptions, to be utilized in the hiring process and if necessary during an injury management process. Functional Job Descriptions inform employees during the hiring process what will physically be required of them. They are utilized in Vermont Sports Medicine Centers Safe Work and disability management process. If an employee is injured on the job, all providers understand what the job requirement is physically. VSMC therapists focus goals on the return to work goals and provide functional testing which is invaluable information to the physicians providing care, relative to the patients return to work status.

Choice therapists utilize functional job descriptions to work with employers and physicians in designing safe and effective transitional work, to effectively reduce or eliminate any need for lost time.

Choice therapists will come into the worksite and educate leadership and supervisors regarding the American Disabilities Act as it pertains to the job description and defining the essential functions. With this information the essential functions of the jobs are defined. The therapist will then come in an assess the job being performed evaluating frequency of tasks and forces required to perform the job, and write the functional requirements for each job task.

Using the Functional Job Description (see Functional Job Description), Choice Physical Therapy will design Pre-placement Functional Tests that are specific to your companies Job Titles. A pre-placement exam is created to be compliant with the American Disabilities Act, only assessing those tasks that have been deemed “ Essential “ under the ADA. All testing processes are standardized and endorsed by the National Organization of Industrial Safety and supported by extensive research.

The pre-placement exams are done in conjunction with your medical provider completing the physical component of the exam. If you do not have a company medical provider Choice can offer suggestions within our medical network for a provider to work with you.