Occupational Health Clinic Network - Prevention and Protection for the NYS Workforce

Find a Clinic Near You

There are regional Occupational Health Clinics located throughout New York State. Use the list or map to find the one nearest to you. For more information, contact your local occupational health clinic or the New York State Department of Health at (518) 402-7900.

What is the Occupational Health Clinic Network?

The New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network (OHCN) is the nation's only state-based occupational health clinic network and is located throughout the State, including a clinic specializing in farm worker health and safety. The network offers specialized medical diagnoses, high-quality care and support services. Each year, thousands of workers in New York get sick or are injured on the job. The OHCN assists New Yorkers by helping them to return to work quickly and safety and by preventing disease and injuries.

The Occupational Health Clinics are available to all workers, retirees and residents in New York State. No worker will be turned away because of an inability to pay and the clinics can bill directly to most major health insurance carriers.

What can the Occupational Health Clinic Network offer Workers?

Experts in occupational medicine can help prevent workers from becoming sick or injured on the job. They can also help workers achieve the best possible recovery if they are sick or injured on the job. Trained staff can also assist both the worker and their family with the stress caused by being sick or injured on the job.

More information and a list of services available for workers is provided in our publication, Protecting the Workers of New York State: For Workers, Retirees & Residents (also available in Spanish).

What can the Occupational Health Clinic Network offer Businesses?

Experts in occupational medicine can help prevent your employees from becoming sick or injured on the job. They can also help your employees who are sick or injured on the job achieve the best possible recovery, and can assist in ensuring that your workers return to work safety by identifying alternative, "light-duty" and work restriction programs. Specialty services include: occupational illness and injury prevention education, medical surveillance examinations, respirator fit testing and clearance examination, fit for duty examinations and a variety of wellness safety programs.

More information and a list of services available for businesses is provided in our publication, Protecting the Workers of New York State: For Businesses.

What can the Occupational Health Clinic Network offer Health Care Providers?

The clinics are a resource for health care providers treating patients with potential work-related illnesses and injuries. The OHCN is available for consultation or referral of patients with occupational diseases or injuries. They have diverse treatment teams of physicians, nurses, industrial hygienists and social workers that assist providers in assessing and managing their patients' work-related conditions and, if necessary, provide worksite and social work interventions. The OHCN's board certified occupational medicine physicians and staff are also experts in dealing with the Workers' Compensation system and assisting patients during the compensation process.

Did you know that with only four questions asked to their patients, health care providers can identify whether a disease may have an occupational exposure component?

Physicians of the OHCN have developed a series of clinical practice reviews. These were published in the January 2000 issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine - a dedicated issue entitled "The Diagnosis and Treatment of Occupational Diseases: Integrating Clinical Practice with Prevention". These reviews are intended to assist clinicians in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of common occupational disease. Complimentary access to the issue is offered on the Internet via Wiley InterScience, sponsored by the New York State Department of Health. To view the articles and/or download them, go to Clinical Practice Reviews.

Physicians in New York State are encouraged to use our publication, Protecting the Workers of New York State: For Health Care Providers and to contact the Occupational Health Clinic in their region to determine how they can utilize the clinics' occupational health services for their patients with potential work-related conditions.

Data Reports

  • The New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network Report 1988 - 2003 describes the patient population of the OHCN by summarizing data on demographics, diagnoses, exposures, industries and occupations. These data are used to identify clinical needs and challenges that the occupational health community faces as the workforce changes.
  • The New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network Report: Key Updates 2004-2012 represents an update of a selected subset of figures from the initial report to include data from 2004 through 2012. This report provides updated data to better reflect current trends in diagnoses and exposures, and a more detailed description of data found in the original report. Properly identifying workplace hazards can be used to improve treatment and management of occupational diseases as well as prevent them from occurring. Data in this report will assist in identifying current occupational health needs in New York State as well as those being met by the OHCN.
  • The New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network Report: Key Updates 2006-2015 represents an update of a selected subset of figures from the initial report to include data from 2006 through 2015. Data in this report is not directly comparable to previous reports because analysis in this report utilized each patient’s first visit during each year between 2006-2015, whereas previous reports utilized an individual’s first visit throughout the selected years.

Occupational Health Clinic Oversight Committee

The Occupational Health Clinic Oversight Committee was created by Section 2490 of the New York State Public Health Law. The Final Report to the Governor and Legislature is available.

Links

  • Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics - an international network of more than 60 clinics and more than 250 individuals committed to improving the practice of occupational and environmental medicine through information sharing and collaborative research. The chief long-term goal of AOEC is to facilitate the prevention and treatment of occupational and environmental illnesses and injuries through collaborative reporting and investigation of health problems.