Clinical services

Employment related physicals

Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic understands that, in addition to adhering to regulations, it is important for your company to employ and maintain a healthy and safe workforce. We work to establish a relationship with your company to tailor physicals that will meet your needs.

Physicals

• Pre-placement exams
• DOT/CDL exams
• Respiratory clearance exams
• Asbestos exams
• Annual wellness exams
• Return-to-work exams

Additional services

• Vision screening
• Hearing tests
• Pulmonary function tests
• Respirator fit testing
• Lab tests
• X-rays

Designated medical provider program

Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic takes time to understand the focus of your company, including specific job tasks and modified or alternative work options. Companies choosing Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic as their designated medical provider (DMP) receive quick communication after every visit with a Sanford Health medical provider. A copy of the workability report is sent to the company shortly after the visit and is available immediately online, allowing return-to-work efforts to begin.

Work injury management

At Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic, we take a team approach to managing work-related injuries, including collaboration with medical providers, employers, worker compensation insurance companies, return-to-work case managers and individual workers. This process allows companies the ability to lower their workplace injury costs in both coverage premiums and lost productivity. By maintaining workers' health and safety, you keep them on-the-job.

Benefits of choosing Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic as your DMP:

Comprehensive services in one location

• In Bismarck, Dickinson and Minot, Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinics offer a complete list of services to treat and manage injuries. This includes walk-in visits, physical therapy, injury prevention services, X-ray and drug and breath alcohol testing.

Workability testing

• Workers are screened before their appointments for their actual physical capabilities (for example, lifting, safe push and pull maximums) taking the guesswork out of activity restrictions.

Functional job analysis

• Professionally trained staff visits your jobsite to match an injured worker's job capabilities with alternative job tasks.

Case management

• Registered nurses review all injuries by the type of injury and the employee's workplace. They then coordinate the worker's care and facilitate the transition from injury status to full-duty status.

Online reporting

• Injury reports, upcoming appointments and injury trend analysis are accessible in real time online at bismarck.sanfordhealth.com/occhealth.

Staff communication

• Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic provides posters and wallet cards educating employees of our location.

Respiratory protection program

At Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic, we understand the importance of protecting your workers while on the job. We not only work to maintain their health, but also strive to keep them as productive members of your workforce. Air that is contaminated or lacks oxygen can be harmful to health. Inhaling chemical vapors, fumes or even dust can damage their lungs and other organs leading to serious medical conditions. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations require that workers who wear respirators and are exposed to workplace respiratory hazards must participate in a respiratory protection program. Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic is dedicated to assisting companies in meeting this requirement.

Benefits of using Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic:

• Timely written reports
• Annual company statistics
• On-site services—we will come to your company's location to perform respiratory exams and provide you with on-the-spot results.

Respiratory clearance

The purpose of respiratory clearance is to determine workers' physical abilities to safely wear respiratory protection and to assist employers' compliance with the OSHA respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134).

Best practice

The following represents the current occupational medicine standard and the highest level of respiratory protection for worker and employer.

• Pre-placement and annual surveillance
• Standardized initial OSHA respiratory clearance questionnaire or annual abbreviated questionnaire
• Baseline or annual physical exam
• Baseline or annual pulmonary function test

At minimum, according to OSHA, every employee who has been selected to use any type of respirator must complete an OSHA respiratory questionnaire. (Standard number 1910.134 AppC)

Clearance determination

A written opinion will be sent to your company indicating unrestricted use of respirators, restricted use or deferred clearance.

Respirator fit testing

Once a worker is deemed physically safe to wear a respirator, proper fit of a respirator is the next step. A fit test is necessary to determine if the respirator provides a proper seal around the face to avoid leaks of contaminated air while in use. We use the industry’s best form of respirator fit testing—digital technology to ensure the perfect fit. The superior fit confirms protection from contaminated environments for your employees.

A worker's fit should be checked annually. Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic staff is trained to perform these tests.

Asbestos surveillance

In addition to requiring respiratory protection, workers exposed to asbestos are required by OSHA to be included in an asbestos surveillance program. This exam is similar to the respiratory clearance exam but is more detailed and requires a special X-ray of the lungs. This surveillance should be done as a pre-placement, annually and at termination.

Hearing conservation program

All worksites requiring hearing protection must comply with OSHA noise exposure standards. The Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic will help you develop and maintain a program to meet those needs. Licensed audiologists supervise the program.

Annual testing

• Onsite testing available for groups
• Interpretation and review

Pre-placement testing

• Baseline testing
• Interpretation and review

Computerized testing results

• Individual results and explanation letter available
• Composite summary of all employees available for employer

ANSI/OSHA certified audiometer/sound booth

• Functional and biological calibration daily
• Acoustic calibration annually

Council of Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation

• Certified hearing technicians

Additional hearing services

• Employee noise education seminars
• Noise protector evaluation and fitting

Benefits of effective hearing loss prevention programs for noisy companies:

• Reductions in accident rates, illnesses and lost time
• Detects hearing loss that may be due to causes other than workplace noise exposure, e.g. hearing loss due to impacted earwax, an ear infection or possibly a more serious problem. Upon identification, employees can be referred to a specialist for necessary medical attention.
• Employees sometimes report they sleep better at night and no longer deal with temporary reductions in hearing ability at the end of the day, or by ringing in the ears that often accompanies the development of noise-induced hearing loss.
• Some evidence suggests that long-term noise exposure may contribute to stress-related disease, especially cardiovascular disease.
• Noise reduction then becomes a way to control and reduce the chances of other health impairments.
• Employees can communicate better and can hear alarms and warning shouts.
• Reduced worker compensation payments and medical expenses, and a reduced likelihood of an OSHA citation for hearing conservation violations
• Improved employee morale
• In some cases, higher production efficiency

Injury case management

The Sanford Health Occupational Medicine Clinic has on-site return-to-work case managers. Our case managers are registered nurses who assist workers seeking medical care at any of the Sanford Health facilities. Case management partners coordinate care and monitor restrictions for medical necessity and appropriateness. They provide recommendations, act as a liaison between the worker, employer, medical provider and claims adjuster at Worker's compensation insurance companies, and coordinate transitional work.

Understanding roles in injury management

Employer's role

• Check out the accident right away. Assist your employee in obtaining prompt medical care and file a worker's compensation claim.
• Inform your employees they need to contact you by telephone or in person every week and after every medical provider's appointment pertaining to the injury. Maintain positive communication with the worker to let them know how important they are to your business.
• Develop a work plan. If you are unable to modify the injured worker's job to fit their restrictions, try looking for transitional work. Transitional work will allow your injured worker to transition back into the work environment. It also allows the worker to remain in the workplace until they have recovered sufficiently.
• Examples of transitional work for a truck driver with a fractured ankle are: answering the telephone, performing inventory tasks while sitting on a wheeled chair, updating manuals, etc.
• Also remember that you do not have to bring the worker back full-time during the recovery phase.
• Inform your employees that they must stay within their medical provider's restrictions.
• Call our case managers at (701) 323-5222 if any problems arise.
• Seek medical care at the facility your employer has chosen.

Injured worker's role

• Inform your employer as soon as you are injured or think you may be injured. Seek medical care.
• Communicate with your employer weekly and after every appointment pertaining to your injury.
• Stay within your restrictions. If someone asks you to do something outside your restrictions—DON'T DO IT.
• Transitional work may be offered to you that will be different from your regular job. This is temporary and your employer is helping you by providing this work. PLEASE NOTE that refusing to accept appropriate transitional work that is offered may have unwanted consequences.
• Call our case managers at (701) 323-5222 if any problems arise.

Information about our medical providers

• Our medical providers provide prompt and appropriate care.
• Injury reports are completed by the medical provider detailing functional capabilities. If you are on our designated medical provider list, you will be faxed a copy of the medical provider's report of injury after each visit.
• Our medical providers develop a treatment plan, which identifies physical abilities and includes using work as part of the recovery process.
• Call our case manager at (701) 323-5222 if any problems arise.

Service request form

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