Occupational Medicine

From drug screenings to physicals—occupational health is designed to keep employees safe and healthy at work. “We provide treatment for job-related illness or injuries and health maintenance for employers,” said Dr. Paul Fortier, an occupational medicine physician with Lee Health. Doctors document a patient’s health before they start working and throughout their employment. “We have it set up in occupational health so that we know what kind of physical to do for people in the transportation industry, people in the medical industry, for people in the first responders, the police and fire,” he said. Patients may also go to occupational health for treatment if they were injured on the job. Lee Health has two locations: one at Page Field and one at Pine Island Road. “We have to know specific job-related criteria and regulations for injured workers and specific occupations and for specific physicals as well,” Dr. Fortier said. If a patient’s health does not meet the criteria of the employer, occupational health physicians can help patients improve their lifestyles. “I talk to them about their diet, about exercise, about keeping themselves healthy,” he said. Occupational health physicians are privy to the regulations and paperwork needed for employees—ensuring patients get the correct evaluations and treatment they need to get back to work.