There are less than 1,000 certified occupational medicine physicians in the United States. But David J. Fletcher, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.O.E.M., is working to change that.

As a clinical assistant professor of occupational medicine, Dr. Fletcher educates students about the possibilities and challenges of the field. As medical director of Midwest Occupational Health Associates (MOHA) in Decatur, Illinois, he provides a model of how to rise to the challenges and make the most of the possibilities.

The MOHA clinic and the Safety, Health Occupational Rehabilitation for Employees (SHORE) facility next door offer a continuum of services to meet employee health needs. With more than a dozen exam rooms, four trauma bays, and two pain management treatment and assessment rooms, the MOHA facility and staff are well equipped to handle the evaluation and treatment of work-related injuries. The SHORE warehouse and classroom facility is the home of a state-of-the-art industrial rehabilitation program and comprehensive OSHA safety training program. Complete with an elevated industrial work platform, a loading dock, shoveling pits, and a functional rail car, SHORE provides simulated work environments so employees can be trained and conditioned to prevent injuries.

"Our goal is to engineer healthy companies through early intervention. Prevention principles do work. They create safer work environments, which means healthy employees and improved productivity." Dr. David Fletcher

Together, these facilities provide a comprehensive approach to employee health. "MOHA is essentially an emergency room for business," Dr. Fletcher says. "We see acute traumas, conditions related to cumulative trauma disorder, musculoskeletal injuries, skin conditions, burns, eye injuries, and bloodborne pathogens issues. We provide urgent care, understanding the employers' need for expediency, the OSHA regulations, and the legal issues involved." At SHORE, the focus is on rehabilitation and prevention. "Our goal to to engineer healthy companies through early intervention. Prevention principles do work. They create safer work environments, which means healthy employees and improved productivity."

The success of the SHORE and MOHA ventures in Decatur indicates that this comprehensive approach is just what employers are looking for. In fact, the feedback has been so positive that Dr. Fletcher is considering opening facilities in other Central Illinois locations as well.

So if the need is so great and the future so promising, why aren't there more physicians practicing this brand of medicine? According to dr. Fletcher, there are two important factors that impact the numbers of students going into occupational medicine. "Of course, it's not the field for everyone. There are challenges in dealing with the competing interests of the employer and the employee. The job requires someone who is a good clinician, a good communicator, a person who doesn't waver, some who knows the law and is not intimidated by divers interests. It also helps to have an entrepreneurial spirit."

At the same time, there is a dearth of practitioners because many medical students have not had the opportunity to see occupation medicine in action."Most students, when they've been exposed to the field, really like it," Dr. Fletcher says. "Unfortunately, in many medical schools across the country there just aren't the programs and the role models for students to connect with."

That's not the case for students in the College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. They do have access to a successful program and willing mentor. Dr. David Fletcher is seeing to that.