I am a Registered Occupational Therapist with over 5 years of experience working in the fields of occupational therapy and rehabilitation. I have spent an extensive amount of time working with employers and in developing interventions for employees with cumulative trauma disorders (CTD). These interventions and treatments have been effective in returning the injured worker to the workplace.

In the past, the problem has been how to provide these effective interventions only to those employees who would benefit before they required medical intervention. The CtdMAP Prevention Program has solved this problem by using a questionnaire that is easy for employees to complete and takes only 20 minutes. The results make it possible to identify the 20% of employees and jobs that would benefit from intervention before requiring surgery and the cost saving to employers has been over 200%. Or, in other words, for every dollar spent on prevention the employer saves $200. This improves the employer’s bottom line while decreasing the employee’s time away from work and promoting better employee morale.

Since the CtdMAP also provides job risks, I can help the employer match individuals to job activities while providing appropriate exercise, strengthening, and educational programs. This approach has resulted in lower employee turnover and less down time training new employees. The HealthSouth ergonomics team using the CtdMAP job checklist can evaluate jobs that remain at higher risk.

Cumulative trauma disorders continue to be a problem for the employer and employee. The CtdMAP is offering the employer a clear choice to be proactive and gain control over the workers’ compensation costs. In addition, the CtdMAP meshes very nicely with the proposed OSHA Ergonomic Standards. The CtdMAP has continued to allow HealthSouth to be the leading occupational healthcare provider in our area.

If you would like more information on how HealthSouth is effectively using the CtdMAP Prevention Program in our efforts to help employers, please contact me at (501)834-1800.

Halle Wakefield, OTR/L
HealthSouth