PULSE Magazine | February 2020 Issue

WELLNESS UPDATE Mandatory Annual Medical Assessments for Sworn Employees

Appointments for annual medical and fitness assessments for the 2019-2020 fiscal year will be available at the Austin Public Safety Wellness Center (APSWC) through September 30, 2020. The APSWC is open Monday through Thursday, and will have appointments available in the morning and afternoon. Medical assessments should take approximately one hour to complete. The optional fitness assessment will add an additional 30 minutes. All sworn personnel who complete their assessments at the APSWC will be compensated for their time. Lab work that is completed as part of the APSWC assessment will also be compensated (up to 30 minutes) and will be added to the employee’s time once the EMS department re- ceives verification that it has been completed. Austin Public Safety Wellness Center Assessments and Blood Work Sworn EMS employees are required to complete an annual medical assessment, per EMS Department Policy 703 – EMS Health and Wellness Program. Sworn EMS employees may complete the medical as- sessment and an optional fitness assessment with the APSWC. Fitness assessments are only available as part of the total medical assessment at the Wellness Center and cannot be scheduled independently as a stand-alone assessment. As part of the medical assessment offered at the APSWC, standard blood work is ordered to assess a number of health indicators, including cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, etc. EMS employees will need to visit a local CPL lab to have this blood work drawn. Your orders for lab work will be submitted to CPL when you call the APSWC to make an appointment. Use of Personal Physician for Annual Medical Assessment Medical assessments may also be completed by the employee’s personal physician at his/her own cost. A verification form to be completed by the physician must be submitted to EMS HR as proof of medical assessment completion (the submission contacts are listed on the form). Sworn employees who utilize the personal physician option will be compensated 1.5 hours upon receipt of physician verification by the EMS HR department. Forms for personal physician use are located at atcemsinside.org in the ATCEMS employee portal, under the section titled “ Other Documents .” If using a personal physician, blood work is only required at the practitioner’s discretion. You may schedule your APSWC assessments by calling them directly at 512-974-0200 . Business hours are Monday – Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Any cancellations or reschedules will need to be taken care of directly with them at the same number. In an attempt to ensure that employee appointments are available and distributed throughout the year, scheduling guidelines have been created according to shifts. Scheduling your appointment within your designated shift is highly encouraged in order to prevent a last minute rush on a limited number of ap- pointments at the end of the year. The following guidelines apply to sworn EMS staff scheduling annual medical appointments with the APSWC: February: A shift March: B shift Contact Information

April: C shift May: D shift June: A shift July: B shift August: C shift Sept: D shift Please direct any questions to Division Chief Ed Piker at ed.piker@austintexas.gov.

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