“This program has helped me to lose weight and reduce my pain level dramatically. Thanks for everything WolMed!”
5/15/09 Jessica E. – CPM
BLOOD SAVES LIVES
WOL+MED recently hosted a blood drive this month that benefits the American Red Cross. Because the blood supply after the holidays is always low, the donations that were received were greatly appreciated. 13 people ended up donating a total of 13 pints of blood, which could potentially save 39 lives! To show our thanks to those who gave blood, WOL+MED donated 4 $25 gift cards. The winners of the gift cards are: (more…)
Here’s the scenario, it’s been a long day at work and your back is killing you, what do you do? You first go for the medicine cabinet knowing your husband or wife keeps their leftover pain medication they had from an accident they had last year in there. Next you grab 2 aspirin because of the pounding headache you got from a stressful day at work. Last you go to the fridge and get a beer or glass of wine to take all four pills hoping to relax and alleviate the pain quickly. Does this sound familiar to you? Read the story again and see if you can find all the mistakes you made in this scenario when taking these pain medications. (more…)
Something incredible happened on July 13th in Carrollton, TX. A 19 year old construction worker fell down a 55 foot hole at Good Elementary School and lived to tell the tail. The hole was just over 30 inches across, barely wide enough for the man’s shoulders to fit in. Firefighters from both Coppell and Carrollton rushed to the scene and quickly devised a strategy to bring the man back up the hole. (more…)
OSHA publishes its Federal Injury and Illness Statistics for each fiscal year. In 2010, United States Postal Employees were among the most affected, by work-related injury and illness, of all federal employees. In past years, the USPS had 48,000+ reported cases of injury and illness. 2010 was improved, with 40,588 reported cases. Incidentally, 40,588 is 2nd only to the Federal Government (executive, legislative, and judicial branches combined) with 67,996 cases.
I like to report on this information each year because the statistics are very interesting. US Postal Employees have very physically demanding jobs. In 2010, nearly 7% of the 593,850 USPS employees reported cases of work injury or illness. That’s about 1 in 14. With that in mind, take a look at the following data.
The Census Bureau reported 18% of its employees as having work related injury and illness.
Customs and Border Protection had nearly 10%
The Forest Service had just over 7%.
The Bureau of Prisons had almost 7%.
Those 4 agencies are the only federal agencies with a higher incidence of work-related injury and illness than the United States Postal Service.
The Department of Defense had 2.58%
The FBI had 3.36%
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had 5.32%
The Social Security Administration had 1.25%.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs had 3.74%.
If you are a USPS employee, your chances of sustaining a work injury are very high. Call WOLMED if you are hurt on the job. We can help you today.
The sad fact is that while many people get injured or sick while on the job in the United States, many people don’t know that they qualify for workers compensation. This is due to the fact that many people don’t understand what workers compensation is. The definition from the Texas Department of Insurance states, “workers’ compensation laws provide benefits to workers who are injured or become ill because of their job “regardless of who was at fault for his or her accident or illness. (more…)
WOLMED Patient Feedback: Direct Quotes from Happy Patients in 2010
1. Best people I’ve ever encountered and the doctor is great!
2. They were great!
3. Everyone is always very nice.
4. I like you guys.
5. Above and beyond. Thank you.
6. I work hard and so do your people.
7. The staff here and care I received at WOLMED has been first rate. I recommend you to all my colleagues. Thank you.
8. Love WOLMED!!
9. Awesome!!
10. Staff very friendly.
11. Everyone is friendly.
12. EXCELLENT!
13. Great job!
14. They are wonderful!
15. Very nice and helpful. Dr. Helsten always treats me with dignity.
16. Love coming here!
17. Very welcoming staff.
18. Staff very concerned with health and improvement.
19. Dr. Wolski is my favorite doctor.
20. Lovely staff and doctor.
21. WOLMED is the best clinic ever. Dr. Helsten, Janet, and all staff are superior.
22. You guys are awesome!
23. Dr. Wolski and staff rock!
24. You all are always professional and sweet. Your availability is beyond amazing. My husband and I are lucky to have ya’ll around.
25. Great medical care with a very friendly staff.
26. The doctor was wonderful. He was not only knowledgeable but compassionate and empathetic.
27. Ya’ll are always great.
28. The staff is wonderful and courteous.
29. Everyone is so nice and generally cares.
30. Awesome doctor! Girls up front are awesome!
31. Love you guys! You’ve taken care of me for 10 years.
32. Dr. Helsten is always kind and compassionate. 5 years and still satisfied patient.
33. The doctor goes above and beyond.
34. Wonderful operation. No other clinic like yours.
35. Simply the best!!!
36. Love this place and the people.
37. I wish all doctors were just as caring as Dr. Helsten.
38. I love WOLMED. They have been great to me and helpful with getting me better from my injuries.
39. Always great service and nice people.
40. No other clinic like Wolski Medical. Dr. Helsten is one of a kind. Please stay forever.
41. Janet, you always cheer me up. Thank you.
42. Outstanding staff and service! Have and will continue to recommend to others.
43. All of your staff is very excellent. Thank you all.
44. I like Dr. Helsten. He is a nice man.
45. I have been really impressed through this ordeal. The people here have always been more interested in my health and welfare over money. Thank you.
46. Great attention to detail, especially with dealing with OWCP.
47. Helsten is the best!
48. I couldn’t begin to say enough about WOLMED. They really care about you here.
49. Great experience! Thanks.
50. The doctors and staff here have been a great help to me. Thanks.
51. You guys are the best!
52. Very professional. They take the time to answer all questions and I never feel rushed.
53. Dr. Helsten is the best!!!
54. Excellent! Love Dr. Helsten.
55. Excellent! I’m happy with the care the staff and Dr. Helsten give me.
56. The doctor’s staff is wonderful.
57. Janet made today so amazing. Every time I come in here I’m nervous, but she is so nice and I’m very thankful for her.
58. Very pleased with entire environment, including the rehab staff.
59. Best place anywhere! I come from Dallas just to be treated here.
60. Staff was very friendly and professional. I really appreciate the service I received. Thank you.
61. Dr. Helsten is the best doctor I have every used. I drive all the way from Plano to see him.
The North Texas area has basically been snowed in for 3 consecutive days now. Yesterday, I thought for sure that it would all be over, but then I woke up this morning with what looks to be 6 inches of snow in my backyard. WOLMED Medical in Denton and Dallas, TX never close on bad weather days. I should know since I’ve been with this practice for 15 years. If it’s snowing, Dr. Wolski and Dr. Helsten make it to the office. If the roads are icy, Dr. Wolski and Dr. Helsten make it to the office. Yesterday, for example, both of the doctors were in the office ready to help sick and injured patients.
Like a lot of other business however, 80% of the WOLMED staff in Denton stayed home and 100% of the Dallas staff stayed home. The roads were just too bad for everyone to make it to work. I was watching the news and I’m always surprised at the number of cars on the road driving to work. So many people commute from outside of Dallas and Ft. Worth to get to work. It’s just so dangerous though, and for that reason, WOLMED’s policy is that during bad weather, we’re probably going to be open, but nobody should drive to work if they can’t do so safely.
Wednesday morning, the traffic report on the news showed car wrecks on every major highway. Today, the news showed fewer car wrecks due to people finally realizing they should just stay home, but one of the wrecks had an ambulance on the scene. Today, the Spur 408 and I-20 intersection was closed down to a single lane due to horrible road conditions. The DFW metroplex has been littered with auto accidents and auto injuries are most certainly inevitable.
Yesterday, Dr. Wolski and Dr. Helsten were in the office, like I said earlier, and we had several patients. People are still sick when the roads are bad. They’re still in pain when the roads are bad. They still need their doctor when the roads are bad. The WOLMED doctors are committed to helping their patients regardless of the weather conditions. Last year, I wrote a blog about the United States Postal Service because during bad road conditions, my mail was delivered.
Rain, sleet, snow – the mail man delivers. The same is true for Dr. Wolski and Dr. Helsten.
The annual report on the total number of Texas work injuries was recently published and it showed another drop in the overall number of reported work injury claims for 2010. This is the 4th consecutive year showing a reduction in Texas work injury claims. Some would have us believe that this number is a good thing, and from the standpoint of fewer people getting injured I would certainly agree. However, these numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story. Take the following points for example.
Point #1 – Unemployment. When fewer people have jobs fewer people get hurt on the job.
Point #2 – Fear of Unemployment. When so many people are already out of work, many others fear being out of work. Lots of companies fire people after they are hurt on the job. It’s not fair, but it’s a reality for many injured workers.
Point #3 – Reduction of Doctors who Treat Injured Workers. Workers Compensation health care networks have drastically limited the number of qualified doctors who are allowed to treat many injured workers. If employees have reduced access to qualified workers comp doctors, who will they report their injury to? Not reporting an injury doesn’t mean that an injury never happened, but statistically, this will add to the supposed reduction in work injury claims.
Point #4 – Work Injuries that are Treated as Regular Health Insurance Claims. Many people who are hurt at work will not only not report their injury, but they will see a doctor and say that they don’t know how the pain started. They may get some treatment from their doctor, but it will be under their regular health insurance and not under Texas Workers Compensation. Many health insurers are very good at allowing treatment for these kinds of injuries. Blue Cross Blue Shield is one very good example of an insurance company that takes care of its customers. The problem is that Texas Workers Comp provides injured workers with many rights that the injured worker must forgo by not filing a work injury claim, and by taking this route annual injury statistics appear lower than they really are.
Now clearly some of the reason for the reduced number of Texas work injury claims is due to things like better employer education on workplace safety, OSHA regulations, and other workplace safety initiatives. Those points should not be overlooked. The point I want to drive home is that these numbers are most certainly skewed and the reasons are very sad. Unemployment, fear of unemployment, reduction of qualified Texas Workers Compensation doctors, filing on health insurance instead of workers comp insurance and anything else that might have an affect on the statistics.
WOLMED Texas workers compensation doctors want to help you when you’re hurt on the job. We can’t stop unemployment, but we can help you with the fear of unemployment by helping you get the treatment you need and by taking steps to help protect your job. And sure we accept Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance and most other insurances, but we don’t want you to waive your rights under Texas Workers Compensation. Instead, we want to help protect your rights. Finally, while there is a reduction of qualified doctors who treat workers compensation, we still treat injured workers and we have no plans whatsoever to stop helping injured workers. We want to be your doctor!
If you or someone you know what hurt at work, but aren’t exactly sure what to do about it, give us a call. The Medical Doctors and Chiropractors at WOLMED can help you. We are workers comp experts. We’re open 7am to 8pm on week days and 7am to 4pm on Saturdays and we welcome same-day appointments. Call us today in Denton and Dallas, TX.
Since I’ve started writing these articles, the WOL+MED Blog has starting getting some really nice reviews from readers. They appreciate the original content (as opposed to copying from other sites) as well as the usefulness of the information presented. My favorite articles are those about how WOL+MED is giving back to our community. In fact, our 2 offices recently held our 2nd blood drive of the year, in partnership with the American Red Cross. We had over 40 volunteers this time and each person’s donation can help 3 people in need. That means we were able to help another 120 people with our blood donations.
Thank you to everyone who has participated in our public outreach efforts so far in 2010. We still have plenty more to give, so watch out for more opportunities in the coming months.
As a note to our readers: WOL+MED treats back pain, neck pain, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, hand and wrist injuries. We treat injured workers in Texas Workers Comp and we treat people injured in car wrecks. We work closely with personal injury lawyers and workers comp attorneys and we have a network of other specialists that we often refer to. We are CARF Accredited in Pain Management, which is the gold standard of rehabilitation in Texas Workers Comp. Our Medical Doctors, Chiropractors, Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, and large supporting staff are ready to help anyone who has been injured. Please call us today and let us help if you are having any of these problems.
If you read our blogs, you know that we are constantly monitoring how well we are doing at meeting the needs of our patients. We have an ongoing survey that lets patients rate us from1 (bad) to 5 (excellent) on our performance. The last 15 patients that rated us gave us perfect 5′s in every area! Some of the comments that were written about us by actual patients were:
Great medical care vith a very friendly staff.
You are always professional and sweet.
Your availability is beyond amazing.
My husband and I are lucky to have ya’ll around.
Dr. Wolski and staff rock!
You are wonderful.
You guys are awesome!
WOL+MED is the best clinic ever!
Dr. Helsten, Janet, and all staff are superior.
Great service!
Lovely staff and doctor.
We really appreciate all of this great feedback and we hope that others will see this and decide to give us a try too. We love giving excellent service!
