Returning Injured Workers to the
Workplace: Making it Work at Asante Heath System
We recently learned that
Asante Health System in Jackson County, Oregon has been
very proactive in returning injured workers to its
workforce through Oregon’s Preferred Worker Program.
Barbara Reich is the Workers’ Compensation Program
Coordinator and handles the workers compensation issues.
She is also the early return-to-work specialist and in
our recent interview with Barbara, we learned a lot
about the Preferred Worker Program and how Asante has
made it work for them:
OBLN: Barbara, we understand
that Asante has been able to make effective use of the
Preferred Worker Program to facilitate the return to
work of injured workers.
Barbara
Reich: By utilizing the benefits of the Program,
Asante was able to retain two injured employees this
past year. In one case, the employee was returned to her
job at injury following a successful work site
modification. And the other was placed into a different
position utilizing the Preferred Worker Program
benefits, which again, enabled a work site modification
to occur.
OBLN: So that we can better
understand the process, can you tell us more about the
worker who wasn’t able to return to her job at injury
and was placed into another position?
Barbara Reich: At the
time of her injury, the employee was working as an
Environmental Services Aide and she sustained a shoulder
and arm injury that resulted in a partial loss of
lifting ability. Her permanent limitations restricted
her from lifting more than 20 pounds. Her job at injury,
an Environmental Services Aide, requires employees to
lift more, and due to the injury she could no longer
meet the physical requirement, which meant she could not
return to her former position. The worker and I began
talking about her other skill sets. Together we
evaluated different job openings that might be a good
match for her and I encouraged her to have conversations
with the hiring managers of those open positions. She
interviewed and was selected for one of those jobs.
However, in order to perform some of the physical tasks
of the new job she would need accommodations. I
contacted Heather Grogan, the Preferred Worker Re-
Employment Specialist for the Southern Oregon area, and
requested a work site evaluation.
Heather evaluated the job and
determined that certain new equipment would be needed to
successfully place this employee in the position. The
equipment was purchased and, a year later, the employee
remains in that job. She really enjoys the position.
OBLN: What kinds of
accommodations or equipment did you put in place for
her?
Barbara Reich: One aspect
of her job required her, many times a day, to retrieve
carts from a large dumb waiter. The push-pull
requirement of door and sliding gate exceeded her
restrictions. The elevator company replaced the steel
door and gate with aluminum ones and simplified the
opening mechanisms to be within her restrictions. This
improvement was all paid for through workplace
modification dollars through the Preferred Worker
Program. However, it not only benefited the Preferred
Worker, but every staff member in that department who
carries out that task.
We also redesigned some of the
workspace for her to enable her to carry out more of her
work from a waist-high position. Part of her job
required her to lift heavy basins. Again through the
Preferred Worker Program, we had special aluminum
“handles” designed that made this task much easier. We
purchased ten handles in total so that other employees
would also benefit from this less-strenuous technique of
carrying out that task.
OBLN: When you first
approached the hiring manager, what were the benefits of
the Preferred Worker Program that you outlined?
Barbara Reich: One of the
primary benefits I discussed with the manager was that,
by
virtue
of hiring her, we might be eligible for up to $25,000 in
worksite modifications. I explained that in addressing
the barriers the injured worker would face, we would
also make a positive impact for the rest of the staff in
that department and potentially reduce the risk of
injury for them as well. Of course there was the added
benefit of retaining what would be a dedicated and happy
worker because we made the job work for her and helped
her attain her goal, which was staying with the
organization.
I emphasize the benefits the
department will receive overall by hiring a Preferred
Worker. The work site design and modifications funded
through the Preferred Worker program can also reduce or
eliminate risk of injury to many other staff and that is
a very compelling consideration.
OBLN: From what you have been
telling us, I get the impression that Asante has a
culture that is supportive of returning injured
workers?
Barbara Reich: In the
last few years we’ve tried to create a better
understanding of workers’ compensation issues. We
provide ongoing information to our managers’ and assist
them through the process.
Sometimes,
as part of our modified duty or transitional duty for
injured workers, we schedule them for computer training
at our own on-site computer lab so they can obtain or
enhance their computer skills. This training can better
position them for other jobs within our organization if
they are unable to return to their job at injury.
In addition, we’ve had some very
successful outcomes hiring Preferred Worker’s from
outside our organization. We proudly post signage
promoting the hiring the Preferred Worker’s. Typically
they come to us by referral from a Vocational
Rehabilitation Counselor. Often times, they go through
an internship with us that lasts anywhere from one to
three months. These internships provide the worker with
a practical work experience, the chance to build
relationships and gives us time to evaluate the worker
as well.
OBLN: Are these
Preferred Workers people who have been employed in the
health care industry before?
Barbara
Reich: Not necessarily. In fact, we hired one person
who had been working in retail and we hired another who
had been in manufacturing. After their injury, the
person who had been in the retail sector, along with his
Rehabilitation Counselor, decided that he wanted to
pursue a culinary career. He completed a training course
and was then looking for an internship opportunity. We
arranged to bring him into our Food and Nutritional
Services Department. He worked closely with our staff,
was a good fit for the department, and when he reached
the end of his program, he was hired.
OBLN: Why do you think that
other employers are reluctant to get involved with the
Preferred Worker Program?
Barbara Reich: I don’t
know that I would consider it "reluctance" per se. I
think employers may not be aware of the program and all
the benefits associated with it. I know that for myself,
I wasn’t fully aware of all the program benefits until I
met Heather Grogan, the PW Program Re- Employment
Specialist. She has provided me with a great deal of
information about the program, how to access it, when to
access it and whether benefits are still available. I
also understand that she routinely travels to various
areas in an effort to talk with employers’ about the
program.
ABOUT ASANTE
HEALTH SYSTEM
Asante Health
System is a locally owned, tax-exempt health care system
serving more than 530,000 residents in nine southern
Oregon and northern California counties. Governed by a
volunteer board of directors composed of local
physicians and community leaders, Asante employs over
4,000 people and is the largest year-round employer in
the region. Asante consists of Rogue Valley Medical
Center in Medford; Three Rivers Community Hospital in
Grants Pass; Genesis Recovery Center in Central Point;
and Hearthstone, a long-term care facility in Medford.
Rogue Valley Medical Center is a 378-bed regional
medical center. It offers nationally recognized heart
care as well as advanced neonatal and pediatric medical
services. Three Rivers Community Hospital is a new
125-bed facility, serving residents in Josephine County
and the surrounding area. It combines leading edge
technology with whole-person healing principles to
provide a wide range of high-quality medical care
including a birthing center, emergency services and a
cancer care center. The Asante mission is simple: to
provide quality health care services in a compassionate
manner, valued by the communities it serves.
Visit the
Asante
Health System website.
Over
the past four years, Asante Health System’s Rogue Valley
Medical Center (RVMC) has accessed the Preferred Worker
Program to re-employ eight injured workers. Some of
these workers have returned to the jobs they were doing
when injured, and some have found new jobs within RVMC.
Donna
Maheady: I have a 20 year old daughter who has
significant disabilities. Lauren has autism, mental
retardation, and other disabilities. She is the joy of
our lives, but a real challenging kid! Because of her, I
became an advocate early on – fighting to make the
system work better for Lauren - whether it was schools,
recreation programs, camps or whatever. I had been
teaching nursing and working on my doctorate. When it
became time to do my dissertation, it seemed to be a
natural direction for me to take – to look at my own
profession and how we were doing at supporting nursing
students with disabilities. So, I did my doctoral
dissertation on the experiences of nursing student with
disabilities.