TIP OF THE MONTH

America on the Move:

Thinking about starting a walking routine? Research shows that walking can help prevent many leading causes of illness, improve the quality of your sleep, elevate your mood, decrease tension headaches, and improve the appearance of your skin by increasing circulation. It’s also a great way to manage weight and get active. Start by adding 2000 steps per day while enjoying the healthy benefits of walking.

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HOT TOPIC

As many companies and organizations are keenly aware of the pending EFCA legislation, it appears that no action will be taken until the Minnesota Senate seat is resolved. The Democrats indicate they have 60 votes in the Senate with a few Republican votes such as Arlen Spector. Passage of this legislation would expose all non-unionized employers to unionization. As the current measure stands the card check feature would disadvantage many if not all employers. A wait and see stance is really all most employers can do now. The time is right however to engage in positive employee relations in planning for the potential passage of EFCA.

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WCORHA UPDATE

WCORHA offers Pre OSHA Audits

WCORHA Safety consultants will tour your facility and make detailed notes of your company’s compliance with current OSHA regulations. We will then produce for you a comprehensive written report listing the good, as well as the deficient areas of concern, with recommendations for improvement. The report will be broken into general categories (Electrical, Fire Code, etc.) and into priorities (Immediate corrective action, Normal/two week corrective action, and 6-month long term project work). We will cite specific OSHA code(s) related to our findings and wherever possible concentrate on previous violations or citations. With your permission we will take and develop photographs for your review of problem areas. All prints will be yours along with a report. Employees will be interviewed during the tour and their anonymous responses will be integrated into the audit report. Finally, we will review your regulatory recordkeeping for compliance and target areas for improvement.

DOT Supervisory Training

St. Rita's Medical Center
May 28th, 9-11 a.m.
$35 per person
Contact Lisa Patterson, 419-226-9171

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WELLNESS UPDATE

With the approach of summer it’s time again to remind employees and family members to use sun screen when necessary. Each year, approximately a million people are diagnosed with skin cancer. The most common sign is a change in the skin, especially new growth or a sore that does not heal. Skin cancers don’t always look the same…the cancer may start as a small, smooth, shiny, pale or waxy lump, or can appear as a firm red lump. Sometimes the lump bleeds or develops a crust. Skin cancer can also start as a flat, red spot that is rough, dry or scaly. Both basil and squamous cell cancers are found mainly on areas of the skin that are exposed to the sun…the hands, face, neck, and arms, but skin cancer can occur anywhere.

Changes in the skin are not a sure sign of skin cancer, however, it is important to see a doctor if any symptoms last longer than two weeks.

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OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE UPDATE 

Core Competencies for OEM Physicians

Core competencies identified by the American College of Occupational and Environmental medicine as necessary to the practices of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) include:

1. Clinical and environmental medicine
2. OEM related laws and regulations
3. Environmental health
4. Work fitness and disability integration
5. Toxicology
6. Hazard recognition, evaluation and control
7. Disaster preparedness and emergency management
8. Health and productivity
9. Public health, surveillance and disease management
10. OEM-related management and administration

Core competencies identified by the American Council for Graduate Medical Evaluation include:

   1.   Manage the health status of individuals in diverse work settings
   2.   Monitor/survey workforces and interpret data for prevention and enhancement of worker health and productivity
   3.   Plan and participate in surveillance or monitoring programs
   4.   .Manage workers’ insurance documentation and paperwork
   5.   Recognize out breaks (sentinel events) of public health significance
   6.   Report outcome findings of clinical and surveillance evaluations to affected workers as ethically required.

These are a few of the reasons we think WCORHA offers local employers an outstanding group of Occupational Health physicians.  Please feel free to contact us and we would be happy to discuss any specific questions and what WCORHA has to offer.

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