Appling Healthcare’s skilled therapists perform Functional Capacity Evaluations to assess your physical ability relating to your employment, disability status, volunteering or more. 

Functional Capacity Evaluations, or FCEs, conducted by Bencura’s highly trained and educated therapists at Appling Healthcare in Baxley, Georgia, provide physicians, employers and individuals with timely, competent evaluations close to home.

An FCE is comprised of dynamic work tasks such as lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying, bending, climbing, reaching and may include positional tolerance including sitting, standing, walking, reaching, kneeling, crouching, crawling, or grasping.

Cognitive assessment can also be included to provide added analysis of thinking skills and its effect on work performance. Our FCEs are administered with care for the patient’s safety and wellbeing.

Who may benefit from Functional Capacity Evaluations?

  • Someone who has an on-the-job injury and requires an evaluation to determine his or her ability to return to work
  • Someone applying for Social Security Disability benefits
  • Someone seeking to return to work or volunteer activities after an injury or illness
  • Someone injured in a catastrophic accident for whom an FCE can determine performance skills and abilities related to resuming former employment or a new job
  • Someone seeking vocational rehabilitation services
  • Students receiving transitional services from school to the work setting to determine their skills and the extent of support required to perform in a job

Who performs Functional Capacity Evaluations?

An Occupational Therapist brings unique knowledge and skills related to the complex and dynamic interactions between the person, the body, the environment and the occupation. The ability to analyze an activity in detail to determine the necessary components to perform the task competently is a unique core skill of occupational therapists, based on their advanced education and training.

Functional Capacity Evaluations typically require the evaluator to determine the worker’s capability to perform various work-related tasks and whether there is a match between these abilities and the essential job performance components. Appling Healthcare’s rehabilitation partner, Bencura, has invested in specialized training for their Occupational Therapists, who also have advanced degrees.

Functional Capacity Evaluations may also be used to determine:

  • Goals for rehabilitation or readiness for discharge planning
  • Ability to safely return to work status (including full duty, modified duty or transitional duty)
  • Work ability status for vocational rehabilitation
  • Workers’ compensation case settlement
  • Disability status
  • Ability to meet job demands as part of a hiring process (pre-work/post-offer employment testing)
  • Ability to meet the demands of other activities (i.e. being a student, volunteering)

To schedule a Functional Capacity Evaluation diagnostic procedure, contact the Appling Healthcare Rehabilitation Department at 912-366-6590.