Over 25 years of Workers Compensation Management Expertise

 

Angela Gazzara

 

Angela Gazzara, MS, CRC began her Workers Comp career over 25 years ago when she
started with Comprehensive Rehabilitation Associates as an Intern while in her Graduate
program for Rehabilitation Counseling at Hofstra University. After exemplifying
excellent work skills and graduating with a 4.0, she was offered a full time position as a
Field Case Manager. Although Ms. Gazzara loved her new position and won recognition
for returning the most claimants back to work 3 months in a row, she could not ignore
her call to the Wild West and moved to Denver, Colorado in 1988, coincidentally the
same time CRA expanded there. Ms. Gazzara was their first case manager to open the
CRA Denver office where she remained for many years, breaking ground with new
accounts and building an excellent network among medical providers and employers such
as United Airlines, Starbucks, Seven-11, Pepsi, Sears and Wal-Mart. Being the token
traveler on staff, Ms. Gazzara worked the out of state cases in such neighbors as Utah,
Kansas, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, where she eventually took
over the Missoula office in 2003, years after planting the seeds there for what became
Concentra Integrated Services. After covering the 3rd largest state in the United States
for 2 years, Ms. Gazzara was ready to turn in her wheels for an inpatient position at
HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico as the case manager
for Stroke, Amputee and Orthopedic patients. She went on to Supervisory roles in
other SNIF’s and then as a Regional Manager for EverCare supervising 20 Nurse Case
Managers treating over 2000 Medicaid members. However her natural passion to return
injured workers back to employment persisted as she resurrected her skills and wheels for
independent Field Case Management when she started OSCM in May 2011. Her skills
are perfected even more now after years of Expert Witness testimony and certification
to perform Ergonomic Assessments. This has been extremely valuable to evaluate and
develop appropriate and safe work areas for claimants returning to work.

Ms. Gazzara has compiled her well-rounded expertise from an eclectic background with
Traumatic Brain Injury & Spinal Cord Injured patients, and the Deaf/Blind Community
when she briefly worked at the Helen Keller National Center as an Independent Living
Instructor. Her sign language skills still come in “handy” throughout work and life.

Ms. Gazzara’s philosophy of rehabilitation by returning to work and community has
remained at the core of her philosophy for the past 3 decades. Her Baccalaureate
education in Psychology and Biology from St. Bonaventure University taught her
the fundamentals of rehabilitation, which her Graduate Assistant position at Hofstra
University let her bring to life by counseling and assisting over 200 disabled students
on campus. She created Disability Awareness programs at Hofstra that are still in place
today.

Ms. Gazzara’s contribution to the field of Rehabilitation is by no means concluding, but
just beginning as On-Site Case Management takes root in the Workers Compensation
community in New Mexico and Colorado. OSCM is a member of IARPS, International
Associates of Rehabilitation Professionals and Workers Compensation Associations of
New Mexico. The journey is just beginning… hope you join us for the ride!

 

Member of WCA of NM 
Member of IARPS - International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals