Occupational Therapist - Acute Rehab Center - Bethlehem and Sacred Heart

St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care.

The Occupational Therapist shall provide occupational therapy services to patients/clients, upon physician consult or referral, who have sustained occupational impairments, limitations and disabilities, as a result of physical, cognitive or psycho-social dysfunction. Occupational therapists provide evaluation and intervention services that focus on physical and emotional wellness, health promotion, client safety and facilitate client re-engagement of ADL/IADL skills. The Occupational Therapist serves as a resource person for the interdisciplinary team and the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department. Occupational Therapists shall provide supervision as required by state laws and regulations to Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants. Occupational Therapists assist with the education and orientation of students, new staff therapists, physicians and other health care personnel. The Occupational Therapist shall work within the practice guidelines as defined by Pennsylvania state law.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Ethical and Legal Considerations

• Complies with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Ethical Conduct.
• Abides by pertinent state and federal laws and regulations, including those applying to the state licensure laws.

Administration of Occupational Therapy Services

• Understands, promotes, and abides by the Statement of Mission, Purpose and goals set forth for the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department.
• Prioritizes, Implements and Documents evaluations and interventions in order to move patients to the next level of care in a safe, timely, and effective manner.
• Adheres to the Standards of Practice and institutional policy and procedures that govern the conduct of professional activities and are consistent with the American Occupational Therapy Associations’ (AOTA) positions, standards, guidelines, policies, procedures, and Code of Ethics.
• Integrates AOTA documents, legislation, legal, and regulatory issues into practice.  Takes an active role in improving patient satisfaction and customer services through performance improvement initiatives, specifically in the areas of clinical outcomes, customer service, productivity, safety and operational systems/processes.
• Demonstrates continued competence in regards to departmental and hospital specific competencies to ensure that the level of expertise within the services is appropriate to the needs of the patients/clients served.
• Participates in opportunities for professional growth.
• Modifies behavior based on self–evaluation, awareness of own strengths and limitations, and constructive feedback from peers.
• Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team as appropriate to provide the highest quality of care to patients/clients.

Patient/Client Management

• Demonstrates knowledge of Occupational Therapy in the Acute Care practice setting.
• Demonstrates ability to carry out primary responsibilities for daily department operations.
• Establishes and maintains an ongoing client centered collaborative process of decision making that exists throughout the provision of services.
• Provides accurate and timely documentation of occupational therapy evaluation and physical therapy progress note.
• Performs occupational therapy examination in a technically competent manner that minimizes risk to the patient, self and others by selecting reliable and valid examination methods that are relevant to the chief complaint and history of the patient.
• Interprets and uses clinical findings to establish a diagnosis and prognosis within the practitioner’s knowledge base.
• In collaboration with the patient, the patient’s family, caregivers and other members of the multidisciplinary team, establishes appropriate plan of care based on clinical evaluation that takes into consideration impairments, functional limitations, resultant disabilities, functional outcomes, and patient’s goals.
• Make suitable discharge recommendation based on identified impairments, resultant functional limitations, and disabilities.
• Makes recommendations/referral to appropriate entities and DME necessary to ensure safe discharge.
• Provides, or directs and supervises the occupational therapy intervention that is consistent with the results of the c