Occupational Medicine

On the surface, it seems like the kind of event that has become commonplace in urgent care: A large, national company buys an existing business, or a piece of one, to bolster its presence and profitability. Concentra’s acquisition of PhysicianOne’s occupational health business in Connecticut could have more far-reaching implications for the industry as a whole, however. With high workers compensation fees, robust volume, and a dense footprint, Connecticut is already one of the most …

Just when you thought you had clarity on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s mandate to vaccinate workers at businesses that employ 100 or more people against COVID-19, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the measure is invalid except for medical facilities that accept payments from Medicare or Medicaid. The decision came down 3 days after the mandate took effect. The mandate had required employees at affected businesses to either get vaccinated or submit …

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s plan to require employers with 100 or more workers to institute a COVID-19 vaccine mandate will go forward after all, thanks to a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District to reverse a lower-court ruling that blocked the Emergency Temporary Standard. The deadline for implementation is January 10, 2022, leaving urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services precious little time to help their clients …

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration just issued an Emergency Temporary Standard intended to protect workers from getting infected with COVID-19 while they’re on the job. The short version is that the ETS requires businesses with more than 100 employees to either mandate COVID-19 vaccination for its workers or to implement a policy that gives employees the option of either getting vaccinated or undergoing weekly COVID-19 testing and wearing a face covering while at work. …

While some employers are content to maintain remote or hybrid work situations for their workers, either because of strong stances by those employees or out of ongoing concern for COVID-19, others are pushing to repopulate the expensive buildings they’re paying for. The concern, of course, is that more exposure to each other could equate to more exposure to COVID-19 and increased risk for disease among the work force. So far, however, the risk among office …

Amazon and Whole Foods employees were told this week that weekly, no-cost testing for COVID-19 is available to them—and encouraged—on a weekly basis. Amazon is especially keen on ensuring frontline workers in California get tested at least once a week, given recent updates in workplace standards there. Currently, tests are being administered on site by Concentra, though not during an employee’s regular working hours. However, according to a report posted by CNBC, workers are promised …

Just recently, a woman in Illinois filed what is thought to be the first COVID-19-related wrongful death suit against an employer, alleging that her mother died after being infected with the virus by her father—who is believed to have gotten it at the meat-processing plant where he works. The case is being referred to in the mainstream media as a “take-home” suit, meaning illness was allegedly contracted in one location then brought home for transmission …

The risks of heading off to work on site during the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly according to the nature of the workplace. Healthcare workers know this all too well. As people start traveling more, though, airports are likely to be another high-risk environment. Dignity Health–GoHealth is addressing that risk by placing a testing center at San Francisco International Airport. They began a little over a month by testing airline flight crews and have now opened …

Virginia just joined a short list of states that are enacting legislation to help protect workers from exposure to COVID-19. Of course this is essential for all urgent care operators to know as employers, but the need is doubly great for those who offer occupational medicine services. In Virginia, some of the new rules fall in line with existing executive orders (such as requiring workers to wear a mask when adequate social distancing is impossible). …