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:

1. Regina Golden – $25 gift card for Macy’s
2. Enriqueta Spencer – $25 gift card for Starbucks
3. Veronica Flores – $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble
4. Brandon Johnson – $25 gift card for Chili’s

WOL+MED would like to personally thank every donor who gave blood at the American Red Cross Blood Drive.  You helped make this blood drive a success, your donations save lives!

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Mistake #1. Never use prescription drugs that aren’t yours:

• While friends and family often have leftover pain medications stored away you should never share medication.  Medication may affect each person different depending on the person’s physiology and could do just as much harm as good.

Mistake #2. Never mix different drugs:

• Mixing two or more kinds of drugs can have a synergistic effect intensifying the effects of both drugs which can lead to an overdose.
• Mixing drugs can also have the opposite effect, causing each drug to interfere with the other, affecting each drugs usefulness.

Mistake #3. Never take more than is prescribed:

• Many people think that because one pill helps, two must be even better.  Pills are given by doctors in doses that will both relieve pain and be safe for that specific person.  Taking more than prescribed can be dangerous to one’s health.

Mistake #4. Never drink alcohol when taking pain medication:

• Drinking alcohol of any kind not just hard liquor will quickly intensify the effects of pain medications making it harder to drive or do many other mundane tasks.

Mistake #5. Never save pain medications:

• Because pain medications quickly deteriorate once they pass their expiration dates nullifying their effects, leftover medications should be properly disposed of once there is no more need for them.

If you have any further questions about pain management or you or a loved one has a need for a pain management doctor don’t hesitate to call WOLMED to set up an appointment or visit us online at www.wolmed.com.

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Something incredible happened on July 13^th 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.

Firefighters first dropped down tubing to pump fresh oxygen to the fallen worker because they felt he wasn’t getting enough air.  Next, a team of paramedics and an ambulance and were on standby to wait for the wounded worker.  Firefighters then set up a tripod and pulley over the hole to lower a rescue captain to the trapped worker.  Once at the bottom, the captain took over 30 minutes to hook up the construction worker due to the restricted space in the hole.  Both were then pulled slowly back up the hole. Once on the surface, paramedics rushed the injured man to a waiting ambulance to assess how severely he was injured.  The whole ordeal took about 90 minutes.  The man was then rushed off to Parkland Hospital in Dallas by Careflight, where he was said to be stable and recovering.

Not all people are as lucky as this construction worker. Although most personal injuries are not as dramatic, to the people they happen to are just as real.  If you or anyone you know have had a work related injury, contact a workers comp lawyer to help you figure out what your next step is.  Next, find a qualified workers comp doctor who can properly take care of your needs.  For online chat support visit www.wolmed.com to help you figure out what your next step is.

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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.

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Written below is a simple list of questions you can ask yourself to see if you qualify.

• Does your employer have workers’ compensation insurance?
  • If yes, then you qualify
• Did you have a work-related injury while on the job?
  • If yes, then you qualify
• Did you get a work-related illness while on the job?
  • If yes, then you qualify
• Did you notify your employer of your injury or illness within 30 days?
  • If yes, then you qualify
• Were you intoxicated when the accident happened while on the job?
  • If yes, then you don’t qualify
• Did your injury occur during horseplay?
  • If yes, then you don’t qualify
• Was your injury or illness a pre-existing condition that didn’t happen at work?
  • If yes, than you don’t qualify
• Did you injure yourself on purpose?
  • If yes, then you don’t qualify
• Were you injured by an act of God?
  • If yes, then you don’t qualify
• Were you injured by another person for personal reasons?
  • If yes, then you don’t qualify

The answers you give to the questions above determine your eligibility for workers compensation.  Once you’ve determined that you are eligible for workers compensation, find out if you are in a Workers’ Compensation Health Care Network because you must choose your doctor from the network’s treating doctor list.  This step should not be overlooked because if you don’t follow these rules, you may be held responsible for payment of medical bills. If you are not in a Workers’ Compensation Health Care Network then you may choose the doctor of your choice. Always remember that choosing the right Workers Comp Doctor will help you when completing your paperwork because they are experts who know all the procedures to follow when filing for Texas workers compensation.

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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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