Cheryl's Blogspot

Burn injuries are one of the most expensive injuries because of the specialty care involved and length of healing time.  It is also one of the most emotional injuries for the patient and their family.  We see all types of burns in our case management practice, but electrical burns can be the most devastating.  If - yes, "if" the injured worker survives, there are months of recovery hurdles ahead.  Rebecca Olson, RN is working an electrical burn injury that happened recently.   The first and most critical goal in management of a burn injury is  Assessment of the extent of injury . What makes assessment so critical is the fact burned or injured tissue will continue to necrose after the initial injury, revealing the depth of skin loss and whether or not skin grafting will be needed, the viability of blood vessels and the need for surgical amputation in some cases.  In an electrical injury, the path that the charge takes through the body - crossing vital organs - prese

When I go shopping at my favorite clothing store and  purchase something fabulous on sale, I love to tell my husband how much money I saved him.  He usually rolls his eyes, not totally buying that he "made" money by my spending it.  He took this picture of me shopping while we were on vacation - he was bored. I have seen that same skeptical eye roll from claims managers when discussing the savings they can reap by using case management on their files. So let me tell you how just this week Stacy Mathis, RN saved one of our customers $75,000 with only 8 hours of case management services.   A file was referred with a date of MVA  October  2013. The claimant was driving a work vehicle and was rear ended.  He reported no injury at the scene and continued working regular duty.  In June 2014 he filed a work injury claim citing back pain  for several months  stemming from the MVA.  Case management received the file July 2014.   Red flag #1 , delayed reporting.  Stac

In the 20+ years I've been a case manager, I've certainly seen employers grow to embrace the idea and benefit of light duty work.  In the 1990's the Safety Director at one factory used to say "if the employee can't lift more than 10-lbs., they can't open our door to get in - We don't have room to babysit!"   Staff changes have come and gone several times since then, and the mindset of the company has totally changed now to one of accommodating pretty much any restriction in order to avoid lost time as long as it is in the best interest of the injured worker.  Right now, Kelli Wells, RN has an injury case with that same company that demonstrates how light duty can benefit everyone involved.  The injured worker sustained a bump to his shin that he didn't think was significant.  Within a week, it became apparent the resulting wound was not healing adequately, and the IW was referred to a general practitioner, who recommended referral to a wound

Yes, I know medical terms sound like another language to lay persons.  Sometimes we medical people get a good laugh out of patient's pronunciations.  My mother always called the "pharmist" to refill her meds.  My friend's mother said she needed "cadillac" (cataract) surgery.  One injured worker told me he was x-rated and sent home from the ER.  But the funniest was a lady talking about her "rotisserie cup" surgery - translated "rotator cuff". Medication names - particularly generic names, can be very confusing.  That's why I always recommend carrying a written list of medications in your wallet.  It's great to have in an emergency, or when you are filling out clinic history forms.  While we can laugh off some mispronunciations, medication names are very important NOT to get confused. Stacy Mathis, RN had a patient this week that is a perfect example.   An injured worker had been recommended to return to his psychologi