Macon Occupational Medicine Helps Businesses Maintain Worker Health and Safety
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015
A healthy, safe workforce is a key ingredient for any successful business. Macon Occupational Medicine helps businesses of every size take steps to maintain the health and safety of their employees – from pre-employment physicals and drug testing to injury treatment and rehabilitation to worker's compensation compliance recordkeeping and reporting.
"We provide a total package of care – from point A to point Z," said Leonard Bevill, founder and chief executive officer of Macon Occupational Medicine (MOM).
"We are a one-stop shop for all services in our office at 124 Third Street or our clients have the option of having us provide our services onsite at their location. We also offer an on-call service for drug screens and breath alcohol testing so if an employee is injured at work on the night shift, the service will be completed within the required time frame."
MOM was founded by Bevill in 2001 to work directly with businesses and industries in the state of Georgia to provide work-related medical services. The company now employs 34 professional staff members, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and physical therapists.
Complying with workers' compensation rules
By Georgia law, businesses with three or more employees are required to carry workers' compensation insurance. Among other requirements, workers' compensation rules require every company to offer a panel of six physicians to treat injured employees.
"At Macon Occupational, we provide the panel of physicians for our clients. And because we don't work on an appointment system, if you are hurt today, we see you today," Bevill said.
"In addition, our staff understands the workers' compensation system. We know how to communicate with patients of course. But we also know how to communicate a plan of care back to companies and their insurance companies. And we know how to communicate with the legal system if that is needed."
Businesses can receive a 7.5-percent discount on their workers' compensation insurance premiums if they maintain a drug-free workplace. MOM provides services to help companies meet the requirements for a drug-free workplace.
"We help with the basic application and we provide the required training and education for both employees and supervisors," Bevill said.
"For example, supervisors must get additional training on how to spot signs of drug use in the workplace. On April 23, we will provide a drug-free workplace seminar for supervisors in our offices to meet the requirement."
Providing expertise for small businesses
According to Bevill, many large companies have a dedicated staff member who is responsible for understanding the current requirements under the state's workers' compensation rules and interfacing with employees on health and safety matters in the workplace. It's the small businesses that often lack the expertise that comes with having a dedicated staff member.
"We provide the expertise for small businesses. And while the medicine is the same whether an injury occurs at home or at work, our staff understand the workers' comp requirements," Bevill said.
"There are a lot of occupational medicine providers that businesses can choose from but we are one of the few that provides the whole gamut of services."
More information on Macon Occupational Medicine is available at www.maconoccmedicine.org.
