Workers who have taken a drug screening test or have been injured on the job may be familiar with what WorkFit is and what they do. Others might think it’s a gym where they have you lift heavy boxes as a workout. (In a way, that’s not entirely wrong. They do have lifting tests.)

While the former is true, that’s only part of what the company does. Director Tony Pofahl, who is responsible for business development and account management — as well as some clinic operations — said they do so much more.

“At a high level, we do everything relating to occupational health,” Pofahl said. “A lot of times when people hear ‘occupational health,’ their mind automatically goes directly to physical therapy…that’s one thing that we do here, but it’s a very small piece.”

He describes the company as having three “buckets.” The first bucket is preemployment services, such as the previously mentioned drug screenings and lifting tests, as well as vaccinations and audiograms. Basically, “anything to ensure that people are able to safely perform duties of their job.”

The second set of services they offer is treatment of work-related injuries. If somebody gets hurt at work, their employer sends them to WorkFit to get treated and, if they are cleared, safely sent back to work.

“We are able to do a lot of injury care here,” Pofahl said, adding that they provide the same services and treatments as most urgent care facilities. “There are some [cases] that are outside of our scope that would need to go to the ER, but we are able to treat most injuries here at the clinic.”

Lastly, they offer medical legal work, which includes independent medical exams and medical documentation review. For example, Pofahl said, if an individual was in a car wreck and their doctor says they will never have full range of motion in their right shoulder again, a claims examiner or attorney could hire WorkFit to do an independent, unbiased medical evaluation. This means they are often working with an insurer, third party administrator, or legal firm, though he added they do sometimes work with individuals.

This last branch was what the company was originally founded on in 2002, and Pofahl said part of his focus is to build that side back up again. Currently, the company works with around 500 employers in the metro area, and he said he would love to see that number grow. With his background in the construction industry and risk management, he seems to be in a good position to do that.

“We work with employers large and small across all industries, but the majority of our clients fall into what I would call a high-risk category, from an injury perspective,” he said. “Construction, factory, meat processing—true blue-collar work, because those are the employees more likely to get injured on the job.”

For Pofahl, the services WorkFit provides are beneficial to everyone involved, and it all comes back to risk management. “I mean at the end of the day, that’s what we do,” he said. “We partner with organizations to help manage their risks. When somebody gets injured at work, nobody wins.”

To learn more about WorkFit and their services visit: workfitomaha.com.