BATESVILLE, Miss. (July 9, 2015) – Merit Health Batesville is proud to announce Certified Occupational Therapist Kathy Shelton, OTR, recently achieved certification to provide pre-work/return to work screenings, functional job analysis and functional capacity evaluations.

Through pre-work and return to work screenings, Shelton will be able to provide physicians, employers and employees with functional test results and recommendations to determine an individual’s ability to safely perform the physical requirements of a specific job.
A functional job analysis process will be beneficial to local industries so they may identify and evaluate the physical aspects of work, such as required movements, functions, forces, actions and postures.

Shelton will also be able to provide Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) designed to objectively measure the maximum safe functional abilities of a client across a broad range of physical capabilities.

Shelton shared, “I’m really looking forward to providing this service to our community industries and employees to improve work place safety, reduce risk for injury and improve potential for our friends and neighbors to return to their work abilities.”

These services are provided at the Outpatient Therapy Clinic at Merit Health Batesville in the back of the hospital, where other comprehensive physical, occupation and speech therapy evaluations and treatments across all ages are delivered.