Karen, a middle school teacher who was also certified to teach gifted and talented children was injured in August 2004. Since that time, she underwent a posterior lumbar fusion and then later an anterior lumbar fusion after the first surgery failed. She completed a rigorous course of work reconditioning and she reached maximum medical improvement from her injury as of December 2007. After functional capacity testing, she was released for sedentary work. Later, the injured worker received trigger point injections and was also provided a membership with the YMCA through the insurance carrier. Finally, her doctor released her to return to work as a teacher but with some modifications. She was to begin at part time and transition back to full time work over a period of 6 to 8 weeks. She was also given several other modifications such as lifting limits rarely to 20 pounds and to 10 pounds occasionally. She should avoid bus and recess duty. She would require a rolling cart to help her to distribute books. She should be able of frequently change positions and be provided with a chair that has good lumbar support, armrests and on wheels. Her classroom should be located at the ground level. She would also require a tag for handicapped parking and the bathroom should be nearby her classroom. She would require a rest period after teaching two periods and should avoid repetitive bending, crouching, twisting or crawling. The doctor declared these as her permanent restrictions.

Because of the numerous restrictions and special circumstances imposed upon Karen, her placement back to her profession was to be a particular challenge. However, Brienne, our counselor in Metairie and Shae and Kevin our two job developers in the Baton Rouge office went to work to help place Karen into another teaching job. Most recently through the combined teamwork efforts and dedication of Brienne, Shae and Kevin coupled with Karen’s strong desires to return to her profession, she conquered the barriers of her physical restrictions and returned to work as a teacher in a private school in the Baton Rouge area. Karen now teaches sixth, seventh and eighth graders. She began on part time status and may be advanced to full time in the future months ahead.

Cindy was a young middle aged female nurse’s aide. She worked at a state facility for the mentally retarded. In the course of her work, she was attacked by a patient and she ruptured two discs in her cervical vertebrae. Subsequently she had an anterior cervical fusion. She had a good result but her lifting and carrying abilities were too limited to allow her to resume the full duties of her previous job. At the time of her injury she was earning about $8 per hour. Through case management we contacted her physician and developed information about her physical capacities through functional capacity testing. In addition, we identified a registered nurse that trains individuals in the field of phlebotomy. Cindy was a very motivated person and was interested in phlebotomy training. At the insurance carrier’s expense, we referred Cindy for the training. She completed the program in 6 weeks and passed her certification examination. As part of her training, she had a brief internship at a medical facility that is part of a Federal penitentiary. After her internship, she was hired by the Federal facility on a part time basis at $25 per hour as a phlebotomist. We closed our file after our follow up revealed that she remained on her new job for one month. Finally, later we heard that her job was changed to full time. This was a highly successful rehabilitation outcome, because Cindy returned to work in a job that she was able to perform in spite of her physical limitations. Additionally not only was the her new job satisfying to her, but also brought wages that were better than her wages at the time of her injury.

Ms. M is a 38 year old female employed as a Delivery Driver for approximately four years.  She suffered a work related injury to her cervical back area and eventually had cervical fusion surgery.  Her job of
injury was actually classified as Heavy Duty work.  The injured worker and her employer were motivated to have her return to work in some capacity, and as a result, a thorough job analysis report was prepared after meeting with the employer and a conference was held with the treating physician and the
patient, where the physician released the patient to perform a modified job. Contact was maintained with the injured worker and the employer, and a successful return to work for Ms. M was established and has been confirmed to present. Ms. M is working part time, earning her pre-injury wages, while
she makes a full recovery. Due to timely and efficient vocational rehabilitation efforts, Ms. M was returned to work in a modified job with her employer of injury in only three and a half months following her cervical fusion surgery.