What are Occupational Health Services?

Occupational health services are services rendered to employers and their employees to ensure a healthy, risk-free work environment. This type of service provider is responsible not only for surveying and assessing the work place, but for advising and organizing work places. The primary goal is to establish an atmosphere in the work place that promotes health in the physical and mental realm.

A safe and enjoyable work place is a pleasant place to work. It makes employees enjoy their jobs more, so that they look forward to going to work. Having a good attitude about one's job not only makes the employee happier, it is a benefit to the employer as well. When the employee looks forward to going to work, chances are that they will perform their tasks more efficiently, experience less stress, resulting in less sickness and time missed from work.

When providers of occupational health services enter a place of employment, they may be responsible for a number of things. In order to establish a safe environment to work in, they may design work spaces, test the air quality in the building, and inspect the machines that are used. To prevent disease and injuries sustained on the job, they may look for biological, chemical, radiological and physical hazards. They inspect the equipment to ensure proper placement while being used by an employee so that physical injury may be avoided as well as fatigue.

The purpose of occupational health services is to make sure all equipment is in compliance with all state and federal laws. They may advise the employer on costs and effectiveness with various programs promoting safety and health. Inspecting facilities to see if there is a need for improvement is another responsibility of occupational health services.

Injuries on the job cause insurance premiums and worker's compensation to sky rocket. These types of injuries may include broken bones, strains and sprains, illnesses caused by exposure to unsafe substances, and hearing problems from constant exposure to loud noises. Occupational health services teach good prevention practices to help prevent these injuries from happening.

Not only do providers of occupational health services visit the work place, they also have offices specifically designed to provide a place for employers to send their workers for scheduled and random testing. They generally provide services that include treatment for work-related injuries, and physical therapy. Random drug testing or routine physical examinations and audio testing, along with vaccinations and flu immunizations, are provided as well.