Key takeaways
- Hazelwood and Tesson Ferry are open Monday to Thursday 9 to 6 and Friday 9 to noon. O'Fallon is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9 to 6, Wednesday and Friday by appointment. All three close 12 to 2 daily.
- Second shift: go in the morning, before your shift, not in the last hour before you clock in.
- Nights: an exam right after you get off at 7 is possible from 9 on, but a tired, stiff driver is a risk. Consider sleeping first and taking a 2 o'clock slot.
- Rotating: call Monday morning with next week's schedule in hand and book the first visit and the re-check together.
Most health advice assumes you work days. This bulletin knows a lot of its readers do not. Warehouse second shift out by the airport. Nights at a hospital. A plant that rotates crews every two weeks. A wreck on the way home at 11:30 at night on I-270 does not care what your schedule is, and neither do the clinic's hours. You can still make it work. Here is how, shift by shift.
The hours you are working with
| Office | Mon to Thu | Friday | Every day |
|---|---|---|---|
| South County, Tesson Ferry | 9am to 6pm | 9am to 12pm | Closed 12 to 2 |
| North County, Hazelwood | 9am to 6pm | 9am to 12pm | Closed 12 to 2 |
| Lake St. Louis, O'Fallon | Mon, Tue, Thu 9am to 6pm; Wed by appointment | By appointment | Closed 12 to 2 |
Hours as published on moinjuryclinic.com. Confirm on the call. The clinic also says it reserves same-day appointment times daily for car accident injuries, which helps if your free window is short.
Second shift, roughly 3 to 11
Your window is the morning. A 10 o'clock exam at Tesson Ferry or Hazelwood leaves time to get home, eat and get to work. Two things to avoid:
- The 1 o'clock plan. It is not there. The offices close from 12 to 2. A slot at 2 is possible, but a first visit that runs long into a 3 o'clock clock-in is how people end up skipping the visit.
- Sleeping through the call. If you get home at midnight and sleep until 10, set an alarm for 9:15, make the call, and go back to bed if you need to. A call at 11:55 may hit the closure.
Nights, roughly 11 to 7
This is the hardest schedule to fit, and the honest answer is that you have two options, each with a cost.
Option one: straight from work
Offices open at 9. If you are off at 7 and live on the south side, a 9 o'clock slot at Tesson Ferry is realistic. The cost is that you will be exhausted, and a first visit after a crash is a lot of questions to answer on no sleep. You will also be driving home tired with a neck or back that may be stiff from sitting for a history and exam. If someone can drive you, this option gets much better.
Option two: sleep first
Sleep from 8 to 1, take a 2 o'clock slot, and still have time before your next shift. You will answer questions better and drive safer. The cost is an alarm in the middle of your sleep, which is miserable for one day and worth it.
Either way, write down your symptoms before you sleep on the day after the crash. Night workers often cannot say which "day" something started, because their days do not line up with everyone else's. Put a date and a time on it.
Rotating schedules
The trap here is booking the first visit for a week you are on days and then having no way to make the follow-up when you rotate to nights. Plan both at once:
- Get your next two or three weeks of schedule before you call.
- Call Monday morning between 9 and noon, when every office is open.
- Book the first visit, then ask when the clinician is likely to want to see you again, and look at your schedule right then.
- If Tesson Ferry works on your day weeks and Hazelwood is closer to the plant on your night weeks, ask whether follow-ups can happen at either. It is the same clinic.
Fridays and weekends
If your days off are Friday through Sunday, Friday morning is your only published window. Hazelwood and Tesson Ferry are open 9 to noon. O'Fallon is by appointment. No office publishes weekend hours. If you get hurt on a Friday night shift, the first realistic exam is Monday, so write down what you feel over the weekend and call at 9.
Do not let the schedule become the reason
The most common way a working person ends up never getting examined is not money or doubt. It is the calendar. Every week the schedule is a little worse, and by week four the back has settled into something that is harder to sort out. The second morning notice explains why an early exam catches the injury at its clearest. The getting seen notice has the script for the call.
Punch in. Tell them your shift when you call. Ask for the slot that fits it, not the first slot they have. Get on the schedule this week, or call South County at (314) 530-5480.
If it cannot wait for a slot
Numbness spreading down a leg, a head injury with vomiting, trouble with bladder or bowels, or anything on the emergency list is not a scheduling problem. Emergency rooms are open on every shift. Go. This notice is educational and is not medical advice.