With an extensive client base including meat works, forestry and construction businesses, WorkAble is a one-stop shop for workplace medical services. It started operating in 2019 and now has six occupational health nurses and one drug and alcohol tester.
It was always Tessa's ambition to be the leading workplace health provider in the region. The recent acquisition of Integrated Safety Solutions (ISS) has expanded her workforce and client base and she is now in the process of integrating the two businesses so they work seamlessly as one.
Offering a full range of medical checks, WorkAble has a mobile service and can carry out confidential one-on-one consultations on-site. They also offer and administer flu vaccinations and provide infection control services and drug and alcohol testing.
“We're here to help build a healthier team for a better performing business,” says Tessa.
“We monitor hearing, vision and lung-function (spirometry) and provide detailed reports to businesses.”
Spirometry is a common office test used to assess how well your lungs work by measuring how much air you inhale, how much you exhale and how quickly you exhale.
Tessa trained as a nurse at Otago Polytechnic and worked for a couple of years at Gisborne Hospital. She then went overseas to the UK and Perth where she worked as a district nurse in the community and started to specialise in wound care. Constantly upskilling, she completed a post graduate Diploma in Health Sciences in 2016. She has a NZQA oral fluid and urine drug screening certificate, and is a quantitative and qualitative fit tester of respirators.
Now studying towards a diploma in Occupational Health and Safety online through Massey University, Tessa says studying online gives her the flexibility she needs as a busy mother of three.
“I believe that to operate a business that specialises in workplace health, I need to have this qualification,” Tessa says.
“I've already got the certifications to carry out all the services we provide, but I wanted to add this to my credentials. I like to have the knowledge behind me.”
Tessa has taken to owning and running a business like a duck to water, saying she thrives on the challenge and loves being a business leader.
She already had a head start setting up and running ProTraffic where she realised she had a talent for the business side — doing everything from invoicing to payroll.
WorkAble assists businesses with workers who are exposed to hazardous substances and noise, where it's mandatory for them to carry out annual health monitoring.
A purpose-built van operates as a mobile health clinic, allowing them to work on location throughout the region — with regular visits to Wairoa and up the Coast.
One client credits Tessa and her team for saving his life. By undergoing a medical check they found he had dangerously high blood pressure and was at high risk of serious injury.
“By having medicals for workers in a business, we are able to pick up conditions they might not otherwise have known about.
“We refer them on to their GP. If it is critical, we will make the appointment for them and make sure they get the best care available.”
Common conditions they find are diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Tessa encourages businesses to carry out pre-employment medicals — a full medical check to make sure a person is fit to carry out the role they have been employed for. By assessing a baseline in terms of hearing, vision and lung function, this ultimately benefits both the employer and the employee, giving them a recorded measure against which to assess any deterioration.
“For operational roles it's vital and I'm extremely passionate about it,” she says.
“If, for example, someone has deteriorating lung function we can then investigate what in the workplace might have contributed to that.”
WorkAble will tailor the medicals they carry out to the needs of the business. So if it's an office-based workforce, they will carry out musculoskeletal tests and make sure employees are set up correctly at desks and workstations.
It is one of Tessa's long-term goals to expand into Hawke's Bay. More immediate goals include training new staff on the systems she has put in place and continuing to improve efficiency.
Having overcome the challenges of operating through Covid-19 restrictions, Tessa feels optimistic about the future. She is driven to make the business the best it can be, upskilling herself and her team as she goes.
