Occupational Health, CareATC Fill Different Roles for Employee Medical Needs

By Jean Yeager

Workplace benefits at Cook Children’s give employees access to Occupational Health and CareATC for help with your health concerns. What’s the difference between the two sites? 

Here’s the easiest way to distinguish them: Occupational Health treats work-related injuries, while CareATC treats primary care medical needs including illnesses and chronic conditions. 

Occupational Health is located at 901 7th Ave., next to the Terrell Avenue Garage. The Occupational Health team promotes the health and safety of employees in the Cook Children’s workplace through injury care, immunization programs and surveillance for chemical or radiation hazards. Additional services include: 

• Drug screens and other processing for new hires 
• Tuberculosis testing 
• Respiratory protection (mask fittings) 
• Leave of absence and return-to-work processing 
• Worker’s compensation management 
• Medications for business travel 

“Healthy workers are productive workers,” said Karen Mahoney, Manager of Occupational Health. “If they’re unhealthy and they can’t work, then that’s a detriment to the whole organization. Our goal is to keep everybody at work and keep them healthy.” 

You don’t need an appointment to be treated at Occupational Health for minor work-related injuries. Karen pointed out the most common injuries: 1) slips, trips and falls 2) overexertion from heavy lifting, and 3) bites, kicks or other injuries from patient behavioral violence. 

Employees also come to Occupational Health for monitoring, such as annual hearing tests for those in noisy areas; equipment for proper ergonomic setup at work stations; and accommodations for the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Bridget Page, Director of Occupational Health Employee Wellness and Employee Safety, said Occupational Health does evaluations to make sure workers are physically fit for the demands of their role – whether they lift heavy boxes in materials management, or work a desk job. 

Occupational Health provides quick and convenient care so that employees can get back to the Medical Center. “You’re still on the clock, you come see us, we have you in and out in about 30 minutes,” Bridget said. “If you needed medication, we can get medicines ordered to the retail pharmacy.” 

Services that Occupational Health is unable to provide include emergency care for chest pain, breathing problems or major injuries; treatment for illnesses such as sinus or urinary tract infections; management of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol; prenatal and maternity care or gynecology exams; birth control or narcotics prescriptions. 

Occupational Health and CareATC keep separate records but work collaboratively when employees need referrals from one site to the other. “Earaches, sore throats and sinus infections are acute care things that CareATC takes care of,” she said. “CareATC can also be your medical home to help manage your chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.” 

Any visit to CareATC is 100% covered by Cook Children’s when enrolled in the HRA or EPO plans. For those enrolled in the HSA1 and HSA2 plans, the cost for a diagnostic visit is only $10. Employees not enrolled in a Cook Children’s medical plan have access to acute medical care at CareATC for $10 per visit. 

For help with anxiety, depression, emotional trauma or other mental health concerns, two options are available. Employees can make an appointment through CareATC with one of two onsite therapists by going to www.careatc.com/patients , or by calling 1-800-993-8244. The second option is to call the Employee Assistance Program for up to six free visits. The EAP number is 1-800-395-1606. 

The CareATC Fort Worth-Henderson Health & Wellness Center is located at 500 S. Henderson St. Hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Appointments can be made on the CareATC mobile app, the Patient Portal at www.careatc.com/patients, or by calling 1-800-993-8244. 

Cook Children’s Occupational Health is located at 901 7th Avenue, Suite 4200. Hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.-11:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.-5p.m. Contact the department at 682-885-3837 (or ext. 53837) or email occhealth@cookchildrens.org.