Success Stories | "They feel better."

DAVID GROF
Manager of Safety & Health, Quaker Fabrics

Mary Dunn, RN, Occupational Health Nurse at Quaker Fabric, Kathleen Nelson, PT, of Southcoast Occupational Health, and David Grof, Manager of Safety and Health at Quaker, are pleased with the results of a stretching program designed to reduce workplace injuries.

A program originally created to address the safety needs of hospital staff has become an asset to the entire community.

Southcoast Occupational Health was created in 1987 to control worker's compensation cases at the Charlton Memorial Hospital. Since then, it has grown to become the largest and most comprehensive occupational health service in the South Coast area, providing services to Greater Fall River, New Bedford, Wareham and some Rhode Island communities.

"Each industry has specific needs and sometimes companies may be subject to regulations they don't understand," said Janet Hathaway, PT, MBA, Director of Southcoast Occupational Health. "We are able to tailor programs to those needs."

Southcoast Occupational Health also provides pre-employment physicals, specialty exams, alcohol and drug testing, a number of health maintenance services and manages worker's compensation.

Setting an example for the community, Quaker Fabric in Fall River has recently instituted an exercise program designed by Southcoast Occupational Health to reduce workplace injuries.

"We designed a set of simple stretches intended to increase workers' awareness of body mechanics and to warm up their muscles before they start working," said Kathleen Nelson, PT, who is responsible for industrial rehabilitation and ergonomics at Southcoast Occupational Health.

The program got started when Manny Souza, Supervisor of the Central Repack department at Quaker approached Occupational Health Nurse, Mary Dunn, RN.

"Manny's staff prepares yarn kits for the looms," said Dunn. "They do a lot of bending, pushing, pulling and above-shoulder reaching. It's very labor intensive."

Dunn, in turn, contacted Nelson who was happy to put the program together. David Grof, Manager of Safety and Health at Quaker, said there is 100 percent participation by staff in the department.

Though the program has only been in place since September, Grof said there was already a decrease in work-related injuries.

"The men say they feel better and more alert," he said. "They even do their exercises on their days off."

Other departments are also expressing interest in the program and Grof and Dunn envision rolling it out throughout the company before long.

"One on-the-job injury can cost a company $20,000 or more," Hathaway said. "For a fraction of that cost we can take care of virtually all of a company's safety and wellness needs."