Kaiser Permanente Southern California announced that Sang Manoharan, MD, has been appointed regional chief of Occupational Medicine for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. In his new role, Dr. Manoharan will lead Kaiser On-the-Job, Kaiser Permanente’s employer-based injury care health program.

“I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the value that Kaiser On-the-Job already brings, beyond workers’ compensation costs reduction, but most importantly, the opportunity to lead the most dominant employer-based health care strategy for injury care in the foreseeable future of California,” says Dr. Manoharan. “I am honored to be part of Kaiser On-the-Job, an integrated health care delivery system that increases effectiveness, boosts productivity, protects long-term health and lowers costs. This is coordination that delivers quantifiable results that no other provider can offer.”

In addition to overseeing Kaiser On-the-Job occupational injury care and return-to-work services, Dr. Manoharan will coordinate an integrated approach to care with Kaiser On-the-Job physicians, associates and health care professionals, providing other non-injury medical services including pre-placement/post-job-offer examinations; fitness-for-duty and return-to-work examinations; Department of Transportation examinations; among other medical screenings and services.

Dr. Manoharan will be responsible for the 19 dedicated occupational health centers located within Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California facilities, many of which are conveniently located on Kaiser Permanente campuses. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente has 74 dedicated occupational health centers throughout California, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon and Colorado.

With Kaiser On-the-Job, any worker – regardless of health insurance membership – who is employed by a company that chooses this essential benefit as part of its health care strategy, is able to access Kaiser On-the-Job health care services. Some of these additional services include urgent and after-hours care, available 24 hours a day, every day; and coordinated clinical services such as lab testing, X-rays, pharmacy, specialty care and physical therapy, all within the Kaiser Permanente integrated care model. Some services are offered at Kaiser On-the-Job occupational health centers, and many others can be made available at the workplace.

With over 24 years of practice, for the past five and a half years, Dr. Manoharan served as chief of Occupational Health Services for Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. He will be working closely with John T. Harbaugh, MD, Occupational Medicine physician director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Dr. Harbaugh has provided leadership to Kaiser-On-the-Job since 2001. As part of a new leadership structure for the program, Dr. Manoharan and Dr. Harbaugh anticipate continued program growth and delivering quality occupational medical care in Southern California.