Harvest Time

Ahhhh.  Harvest time. 

Cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, plums and apples.  Local orchardists are reaping the rewards of their hard work.

Unfortunately many of those fruit trees are quite tall; tall ladders are needed to complete the harvest.  You know, all that about “low hanging fruit…..”  Low hanging fruit is easily harvested, but no orchardist want to leave over half of his crop on the trees.

This is the time of year employers experience increased numbers of work injuries, typically falls from ladders.  While most are fairly minor injuries, any fall from more than eight feet has the potential of causing severe harm.

Prevention; YOUR best medicine.

You do all you can to keep your employees safe: safety inspection of equipment, training of workers in the safe use of ladders, assessment of ground conditions and daily surveillance of the crew.  

Despite all of this, if you still have an employee who falls from a ladder, we are ready to provide medical care. 

• We have state of the art digital x-ray services. 
• We refer complex cases to specialists, such as orthopedists.
• We expertly guide you and your employee through the maze of the worker’s compensation system.
• We communicate with you following every clinic visit to keep you “in the Loop”.
• We understand the cost of health care.  We practice “evidence based” medicine, using diagnostics and treatment that is indicated, which helps keep the costs of health care in the worker’s compensation at appropriate levels.

There are some employee situations that are better treated in an emergency department, such as unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, and potential for severe internal injuries.  For situations such as these, or any other life-threatening condition, you are advised to have the injured employee taken directly to an emergency facility.