Workplace Health

Occupational Therapy Occupational Performance Activation (OTOPA) is a dynamic 10 to 12 week program designed for persons with ADHD, PTSD, OCD, chronic pain, depression, and/or anxiety. OTOPA aims to enable and equip the client with all the necessary skills, strategies, resources and mental preparation to return to work and other life roles.

• Graduated Return-to-Work Planning
• An initial assessment will identify return to work barriers. Solutions will then be devised and implemented to ease and facilitate a successful return to work.

For situations when a client has not returned to work yet, a GTR clinician will visit and evaluate the client’s worksite and critical job demands, consult and involve the client’s employer about return to work options and collaborate on a return to work plan.

For situations where a client is at work and experiencing symptom aggravation, occupational performance barriers, is unable to progress in the Return-to-Work plan, or is unable to perform job duties satisfactorily, the WFA will identify and troubleshoot issues and problem areas. Interventions to follow entail job coaching, implementing practical solutions and strategies, tailored accommodations, education on applying ergonomics and symptom management strategies.

Determining RTW readiness involves reviewing the Return-to-Work plan and employer procedures and expectations. Our role is to bridge the gap between a client’s functional status to work performance expectations. During the assessment, our GTR Occupational Therapists will evaluate the client to identify factors contributing to impairment, functional limitation and/or disability. Our intervention will be geared towards resolving the barrier to support work function, or providing alternative solutions.

Work function intervention and job coaching usually occurs during and/or after the return to work process to support a worker and their employer through a return to work. Through work function intervention and job coaching, our Occupational Therapists can work with employers to provide support onsite, improve work effectiveness and efficiencies, train individuals and make accommodations and recommendations. These recommendations may be based on recurring symptoms, medications or any other issues that may interfere with an individual’s job performance. Work function intervention and job coaching can help clients beyond the workplace and with their daily activities of living.

The Jobs Demand Analysis (JDA) is used to identify specific physical, cognitive, psychosocial and environmental demands of a job. JDA results are used by Occupational Therapists to develop a graduated return to work plan, to guide treatment plans after an injury or illness, to determine recommendations for job accommodations, and to see if a client realistically matches the job demands required of them. JDAs help to reduce injuries in the workplace and support successful individualized rehabilitation plans.

Assess and remove accessibility barriers to promote a barrier free workplace.

Work hardening program engages the client in work-simulated activities over a specified time period.

To ease transition from disability to returning to work. A short-term tailored work program that involves critical physical, cognitive and/or psychosocial job demands that a person attends over 2-4 weeks prior to initiating a formal graduated return to work (GRTW) or transition right back to work. Work conditioning programs are created to close the gap between client’s actual status and needed work performance expectations. Like a muscle, these cognitive, psychosocial and physical job duties are based on just-right challenges to ensure the client meets the basic demands of competitive employment such as tolerating full workdays and daily job attendance.

These programs generally take place after OT initial evaluation or after the client has completed rehabilitation programming that optimizes their functional status (cognitive, physical and/or mental health) but there may still be questions regarding performance to actually go back to work, and/or build confidence to prepare for that transition back to work. Work hardening programs can also occur after functional capacity evaluations where barriers to a client's return to his or her pre-injury job are identified and then worked on. Work hardening programs are designed to “close the gap” and position the client in a position to succeed.

Depending on the type of work hardening, these programs generally take place in the clinic and/or at the client's workplace.

Case management involves evaluating, planning, implementing, coordinating, and monitoring services to meet an individual’s functional and rehabilitation needs. Utilized resources are cost-effective and give positive outcomes. Occupational therapists at Green Tree Rehabilitation also liaise with other stakeholders as required. Goals are collaboratively set and achieved together. Some common goals include:

• Improve physical status by participating in a physical activation program
• Access emotional support and develop a personal support network
• Improve mental health management by participating in psychosocial programming
• Increase community involvement/participation
• Optimize level of functional independence
• Learn about their diagnoses such as brain injury and effects
• Establish electronic compensation strategies
• Improve cognitive functioning by participating in a tailored cognitive rehabilitation program
• Participate in re-learning and establishing life skills to improve function
• Develop personal wellness plan through collaborative goal setting
• Improve perceptual functioning by participating in a tailored perceptual rehabilitation

When a client is experiencing pain and discomfort in the workplace, an ergonomics assessment is often recommended. During the assessment, our Occupational Therapists will identify risk factors to determine the causes of discomfort and pain so that recommendations can be made. Ergonomic assessments benefit employers and employees by increasing worker efficiency and safety in an environment that is suited for the client’s needs. Recommendations may include changing body positioning, prescribing assistive devices and equipment, product design and altering workplaces to prevent injury.