Shawn McLoughlin, Vice-President of Labor and Trust, Jerry Gallo, Regional Vice President of Labor and Trust, and Jenn Delman, PT, DPT, and Senior Clinical Specialist, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast on behalf of Sword Health. They discussed the effects of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders on building trades members and how digital care solutions can help improve health funds services for their members.
Sword Health is a union-focused digital solution that assists members in accessing MSK care 24/7. The program is the only MSK solution that connects patients with Doctors of Physical Therapy. Sword Health holds over 36 technology patents, and its expertise in the MSK industry helps union members and their families access the care they need from the convenience of their own homes. McLoughlin discussed how the pandemic shaped the program and led to their FDA-approved medical device technology creation.
Nearly 50 percent of Americans suffer from MSK disorders, and with the physically demanding work in the building trades, members are at a higher risk. Gallo talked about the overreliance on opioid and surgical solutions and how these are putting workers in an even worse position. The overreliance on opioids has led to an epidemic with individuals succumbing to the addictive medications. Delman discussed how a quality physical therapy solution can help prevent tradesmen and tradeswomen from following that path. Instead, she said that workers can get the help they need in their house without the potential risks of opioid misuse or having to miss work due to surgery.
The high cost of surgery and the rising cost of healthcare in America have led several health plans to seek lower-cost solutions while still giving members the quality MSK care they deserve. McLoughlin talked about how Sword can assist health and safety funds in lowering their costs for MSK care. Gallo talked about the recent work with a union to bring them into the program and how they were able to help lower the costs involved with members receiving MSK care. To help unions lower the costs, Delman explained the importance of their self-selection process where members choose the digital solution they need, and the pros and cons of the system.
Please visit SwordHealth.com to see if they can help with your or your members' MSK care.
Listen to the show above to hear more about how Sword Health is helping workers access MSK care at home.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
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