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UPMC Susquehanna showcases renovated Work Center

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Divine Providence Hospital held an open house for their new Work Center Thursday. Nichole Frye, director of the Work Center, right, takes a group for a tour of the nurses station and examination rooms at the center.

UPMC Susquehanna showcased its newly renovated Work Center at Divine Providence Hospital during an open house Thursday night.

The Work Center provides pre-employment screening and other services such as drug testing, physicals, hearing tests, physical demand assessments and more for area businesses, said Nichole Frye, a registered nurse and center director. With an average of 30 patients visiting daily, the former space wasn’t working out, she said.

“The size was there, but we wanted to provide something more efficient,” Frye said. “The layout just wasn’t functional for patient flow.”

The new center includes six examination rooms, one of which is a fully equipped procedure room for patients with injuries such as lacerations. There also is a physical demand assessment room, in which a certified athletic trainer tests a potential employee’s ability to safely meet the physical demands of certain businesses.

The Work Center also is the only occupational health facility in the area — expanding even beyond Lycoming County — with three board-certified physicians on staff, Frye said.

Kristen Avery, director of human resources for Jersey Shore Steel Co., said the company has taken advantage of the Work Center’s services for longer than the 11 years she has worked there. She said the company works hard to keep updated on sick or injured employees and appreciates communication with the Work Center.

“They keep us in the loop,” she said. “They do a nice job coordinating care.”

The center provides services such as onsite physical exams and drug testing, annual hearing tests for employees who work with loud equipment, vaccinations for people traveling out of the country, employee compensation care and more. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“It works like a well-oiled machine,” Avery said.

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