Resurgens Orthopaedics hosted the inaugural Workers' Compensation Summit on Feb. 5, 2020. The goal of the Summit was to highlight the orthopaedic challenges faced by Georgia's injured workers and treatment opportunities available to promote return to work and improve the outcomes for patients, doctors and other stakeholders.

The Workers' Compensation Summit, the first of its kind in Georgia, was led by Dr. Douglas Lundy, Resurgens Orthopaedics co-president, and included an update on Workers' Compensation in Georgia by the Honorable Frank R. McKay, Chairman of the State Board of Workers' Compensation. Attendees included employers, insurance adjusters, medical case managers, occupational health nurses, human resource professionals, attorneys and more.

"Thousands of Georgians file Workers' Compensation claims each year" said Dr. Douglas Lundy. "The system can be daunting to navigate for those who need medical care the most. We hope that with this Summit, which is now an annual event, we can help the different arms of the system understand the others and provide education that will lead to patients, doctors and everyone involved having the best possible orthopaedic outcomes."

Resurgens Orthopaedics' doctors led discussions about some of the most common workers' compensation injuries.Doctors Michele Perez and Maurice Goins along with Robert Medcalf, Director of Spine Rehabilitation led a discussion on low back injuries. Doctors Lattisha Bilbrew and Brooks Ficke along with Harold Goodrum, Certified Hand Therapist discussed carpal tunnel syndrome and doctors Douglas Lundy and Michael Quackenbush discussed trauma injuries.

Dr. Lundy presented a case study with a patient whose leg was seriously injured at work by a fireworks accident. Dr. Lundy was the patient's orthopaedic trauma surgeon and guided him through surgery and a long recovery. Dr. Lundy reunited the patient and his wife with the EMTs who stabilized and transported him to the hospital and with the nurse case manager who was instrumental in coordinating his care.The live patient case study highlighted how the workers' compensation system can work with all the team members communicating together to see the patient through his months-long recovery.

Later in the day, an interactive session led by several Resurgens physicians allowed attendees to get a first-hand feel for the challenges that patients face by simulating how an employee with an orthopaedic injury manages at work using wheelchairs, knee scooters, walkers, canes, fracture boots, wrist splints and many other appliances. The interactive session was rounded out with attendees participating in live Nerve Conduction Studies, functional capacity evaluations and a demonstration of an ergonomically correct work station.

The WorkLink Summit committee worked with a Broadway Choreographer to create three dance routines to showcase the human body in motion. The dances highlighted the three areas of orthopaedic workplace injuries that were featured during the Summit.

Dr. John Gleason concluded the day's activities with this message to the attendees. "Resurgens Orthopaedics is here to partner with all stakeholders in the workers' compensation system in Georgia. We hope that this WorkLink Summit, with it's focus on orthopaedic education, will prove useful as we all take care of Georgia's injured workers".

Resurgens Orthopaedics' created its proprietary WorkLink program in 1999 with input from stakeholders in the workers' compensation system. To learn more about WorkLink, our commitment to you and your injured employees, click here.