U.S. HealthWorks' Dr. Cori Repp
We recently asked our providers to share some stories about their experiences in providing care at U.S. HealthWorks. We thought this piece below from Dr. Cori Repp, Center Medical Director of our Bradenton, FL, clinic, was a great example of the diversity of experience as U.S. HealthWorks provides the care our patients need every day.
“Doctor, you’re not going to believe what you’ve got in Room 2.”
I looked up from my chart to see Mary shaking her head.
“This woman was assaulted last night,” she said.
I walked into the room and introduced myself. The patient was an older lady, with a slumped posture. She was visibly upset and had multiple bruises on her legs.
“Please tell me what happened,” I said.
“I was attacked,” she cracked a faint smile, “by a rooster! I’m worried that it has the rabies. I don’t want to get the rabies.” She confided to me in a soft drawl. “I hear it makes you crazy.”
She was actually the second patient attacked by the same rooster. It wasn’t at a farm or a processing facility but in the wooded, scenic garden of a nursing home, where she worked. It took longer to convince her that she wouldn’t get rabies from the bird than it did to treat her wounds.
As physicians, we look forward to challenges that keep our careers fresh and exciting – and keep us on our toes. In our occupational medicine clinic at U.S. HealthWorks, you never know what to expect behind the exam room door.
Occupational medicine is a rewarding field centered on the care of injured workers. Many physicians talk about their love for the field of medicine but express disappointment with the actual practice of it. Not at U.S. HealthWorks. Being part of a dynamic company with one focus greatly improves a physician’s ability to concentrate on the most enjoyable part – patient care.
Our case closure evaluation system is based on choosing the right tools to quickly return the worker to full function. Doctors are encouraged to provide appropriately intensive care to decrease the overall time for an injured worker to recover.
The diversity of occupational injuries keeps even a routine office day from being mundane. When a dog chases a delivery person into a canal and bites him, a provider has to put some thought into antibiotic coverage spectrums. Even routine musculoskeletal injuries become less repetitious when you consider the stories behind the cases. Wrist contusions are common, but how many occur from being squashed under a manatee when the chunky fellow rolled suddenly? I’ve seen three, all caused by the same animal.
U.S. HealthWorks encourages physicians to get to know the companies whose injured workers we treat. We visit companies that are household names, getting a backstage tour to see where the magic happens. I have toured the factory where Chris-Craft boats are born. I saw the entire process that turns Florida oranges into globally shipped Tropicana orange juice. I’ve even been to the nursing home where my patient lost a fight with that territorial rooster.
We treat those who assist us – firefighters, police, EMTs and teachers – when they are hurt in the line of duty. It’s rewarding to feel like an important part of your community.
Every day another exam room door opens to present a new challenge. Working for U.S. HealthWorks provides a variety of opportunities to practice occupational medicine that is as diverse as the businesses we serve.
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