Screening and Monitoring Services

Screening and Medical Monitoring: We offer both at our clinics. To arrange for screenings for your group, call our Syracuse office (315) 432-8899 or toll-free (800) 432-9590 and ask to speak with our industrial hygienist.

Screening: Usually paid for by a union or an employer, screenings are set up for groups of workers or individuals who are in work environments that have known health hazards. In some lines of work, periodic screenings take place as a requirement of law. The goals of a screening include any of the following:

 

  • Establishing a “baseline” of health status with respect to a particular exposure
  • Identifying whether any work-related health problem exists
  • Learning what might be the source(s) of the problem
  • Exploring how hazards can be eliminated or reduced
  • Recommending engineering solutions or protective gear that might reduce risk
  • Detecting and treating any problem at its early stage when it might be reversible or more treatable

Ignorance is Not Bliss…

Especially if you are being exposed to some nasty stuff! If you work with or are exposed to any of these materials, you’d be smart to get checked out:

 

  • Lead (in paint flakes, dust, solder, etc.)
  • Asbestos
  • Benzene
  • Solvents
  • Hazardous waste
  • Blood or body fluids
  • Needle sticks
  • Smoke from a fire or toxic gasses
  • Molds

This list is just a sample and not meant to cover all possible exposures.

It’s Not Just about You

Sometimes, an occupational illness can be a “sentinel event,” which means that other workers may have been exposed to the same substance that caused a problem in an individual.

Conversely, it may be just about you; that is, you may be the only one to have symptoms. Not everyone reacts in the same way to a hazardous exposure.

Sample of Occupational Screenings and Medical Monitoring that We Do

For Lung Problems
For exposures to asbestos, silica, talc, coal, dust, fibrous glass, toxic ash, or other airborne substances.

Who is likely to be at highest risk for pneumoconiosis? Those who do mining, quarrying, stone cutting, construction, demolition, ship building, tool manufacturing, foundry work, steel-grinding operations, and welding.

Occupational Hearing Loss (when you work in a noisy environment or with noisy equipment)

We offer hearing tests, test of noise levels at the workplace, strategies for conservation of hearing

Respiratory Clearance Exams and Fit Testing
Some jobs with high risks of exposure require that a worker wear a respirator until other methods are used to control those exposures. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that a) workers obtain medical clearance before wearing a respirator and b) they are “fit-tested” for a particular respirator.

Our clinics can medically evaluate your fitness to wear a respirator. You or your employer may download the link below and mail or fax it (315) 431-9528 for review.

OSHA Respiratory Questionnaire (link to text)

Workplace Assessments: Walk-throughs and Industrial Hygiene Evaluations
Walk-through: When a worker/patient is exhibiting symptoms suspected to be work-related, we offer employers worksite walk-throughs by trained occupational health professionals at no charge. We are not a regulatory agency; the focus of a walk-through is to assess possible health risks to employees and make recommendations to reduce or eliminate risk. This process offers benefits to all involved.

Industrial Hygiene Evaluation: This is a longer, more sophisticated analysis of a workplace that might include careful observation, measurement of exposures, biologic monitoring, and other medical and scientific tools with the goal of protecting human health at the workplace. Adverse exposures can take a toll, not only on worker/manager/employer health, but they can also degrade productivity, increase absenteeism, and raise insurance costs. As a publicly funded clinic, we can offer these evaluations at a reasonable rate—evaluations that could save thousands of dollars in reduced productivity of workers when they are ill or absent.

Firefighter Screenings and Monitoring:
We can help fire departments (both professional and volunteer) fulfill many ongoing health assessment requirements. Our clinic has years of experience working with firefighters and EMS providers, including monitoring of responders to the World Trade Center disaster. Specifically, we provide

 

  • OSHA-required respirator fitness exams (yearly updates)
  • Pulmonary function tests, EKGs, vision and hearing tests, and occupationally focused physical exams

Depending on your location, content of the exam, and the number of firefighters involved, we can bring a medical team to your firehouse or schedule appointments at one of our clinics.

World Trade Center Screening and Monitoring Program (link to text) on Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program for Workers and Volunteer Responders to the 9/11/2001 tragedy.