OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST I/Housing for Health

Position/Program Information

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT

Open Competitive Job Opportunity - EMERGENCY

EXAM NUMBER

Y5856J-EA

FILING START DATE

Applications will be accepted starting on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 12:00 P.M. (PT)

This opportunity will remain open until the needs of the services are met and is subject to closure without prior notice.

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness , and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

Department of Health Service s (Community Programs) is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Occupational Therapist I vacancies related to the homelessness crisis.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

Before your initial work period ends, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Occupational Therapist I .

ABOUT LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES:

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. Through its integrated system of 25 health centers and four acute care hospitals and expanded network of community partner clinics - DHS annually provides direct care for 600,000 unique patients, employs over 23,000 staff, and has an annual budget of over $6.9 billion. For additional information regarding DHS please visit www.dhs.lacounty.gov .

Through academic affiliations with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Sciences (CDU), DHS hospitals are training sites for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education in nearly every medical specialty and subspecialty. In addition to its direct clinical services, DHS also runs the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency and the County's 911 emergency response system, as well as Housing for Health and the Office of Diversion and Re-entry, each with a critical role in connecting vulnerable populations, including those released from correctional and institutional settings to supportive housing.

THE MISSION :

To advance the health of our patients and our communities by providing extraordinary care.

DEFINITION:

Provides professional occupational therapy services to assist patients with mental or physical disabilities to attain, regain or maintain physical or mental functioning or to adjust to their disabilities.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:

Positions allocable to this class receive administrative and clinical supervision from a higher-level occupational therapist, or in California Children's Services, receive supervision from either a higher-level physical or occupational therapist. Incumbents provide occupational therapy services to patients in a range of settings such as acute medical, psychiatric, or rehabilitation hospitals, out-patient clinics, or in California Children's Services Medical Therapy Units. Incumbents may supervise subordinate therapists, students, and other support staff in performing delegated and assigned treatment and exercise procedures. Incumbents work within the framework of established procedures, professional standards, and practice acts, and receive additional direction and consultative guidance from instructors, higher-level therapists, and physicians.

Essential Job Functions

• Reviews physicians' referrals for occupational therapy services and utilizes information obtained from patients' records relative to their medical history, social and emotional disorders and prognoses in order to select appropriate evaluation procedures for identifying patients' functional limitations/disabilities/problems and their level of performance.
• Administers a variety of evaluation tests to assess the nature and extent of impaired function, capacities and limitations such as range of motion, muscle coordination, cognition, developmental stage and life roles.
• Performs evaluation procedures to determine patients' performance capacities and deficits such as functional, cognitive, visual and perceptual abilities; assesses patients' interests, goals, environment, and psychological and emotional conditions, including interpersonal and social attitudes and behaviors.
• Analyzes evaluation test results to establish realistic treatment goals, predict anticipated level of functioning and time to achieve it; plans and develops sequential treatment programs; assesses patients' progress; communicates test results and measurements to physicians, members of allied health disciplines, and patients' families; develops and modifies initial and subsequent treatment programs consistent with the changing needs of the patient.
• Selects treatment methods and techniques that are compatible with patients' needs and capacities by assigning activities of interest which will develop desired motions, responses, attitudes, behaviors, or mental function; treatment programs may include individual and group activities such as manual arts, crafts, games, music, exercises, and sensory-motor integration, and practice in functional, pre-vocational, homemaking skills and activities of daily living.
• Performs complex treatment modalities, interventions, and techniques requiring special precautionary measures such as post-operative activities, manual stretching, positioning extremities with splints and braces designed to prevent or correct deformities, and special facilitation techniques to increase muscle strength and develop control and coordination.
• Confers with physicians, interdisciplinary treatment providers or a health team, and families regarding evaluation, treatment, progress and disposition of patients; makes recommendations such as for splinting and bracing, and considers suggestions made by physicians, other allied health personnel, and/or families.
• Coordinates patient treatment and results with other professionals and agencies such as physicians, nurses, social workers, rehabilitation and school personnel, families and vendors to provide total care to the patient.
• Supervises patient treatments and procedures delegated to other occupational therapy personnel and student occupational therapists and provides technical guidance on problem cases.
• Supervises, maintains, and/or modifies patients' treatment plan and documents progress notes relative to the therapy.
• Participates in continuing education/staff development programs and other medical facility, departmental, and professional licensing requirements as directed.
• May serve as clinical instructor to new employees, interns, and/or students; participates in quality assessment and improvement activities.

Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Graduation from an occupational therapy curriculum * accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).

* In order to receive credit for any type of college degree , you must include a legible copy of the official diploma, official transcripts, or official letter from the accredited institution which shows the area of specialization with your application at the time of filing or email the documents to the exam analyst at jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov within seven (7) calendar days of filing your application online. NOTE: We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

LICENSE:

• Current license ** or a limited permit ** for license issued by the California Board of Occupational Therapy as an Occupational Therapist.
• A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.
  
  

** Applicants must ensure the License and Certification Section of the application is completed. Provide the title of your required license, the certificate number, date of issue, date of expiration and the name of the issuing agency for the required license as specified in the Minimum Requirements OR applicants must attach a legible photocopy of the license issued at the time of filing or within 7 calendar days. All required licenses and certifications must be active and unrestricted, or your application will not be accepted.

Physical Class III - Moderate :
This class requires that the incumbent stand or walk most of the time with bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, reaching, working on irregular surfaces, occasional lifting of objects weighing over 25 pounds, and frequent lifting of 10-25 pounds.

You MUST meet the above requirement(s) in order to be appointed to fill any vacancy related to this recruitment. No withholds are allowed for this examination. Applicants must meet the Minimum Requirements at the time of filing.

Additional Information

OUR ASSESSMENT PROCESS:
Before the end of your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
Please note that ALL information included in the application materials is subject to VERIFICATION at any point during the hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION.

VACANCY INFORMATION:
The current vacancies are to be filled within the Department of Health Services (Community Programs).

AVAILABLE SHIFT:
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.

APPLICATIONS & FILLING INFORMATION:
Applications must be filed online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add the following email addresses to the list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov
noreply@governmentjobs.com
info@governmentjobs.com

You can opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive email notifications for any examination you apply with Los Angeles County.

Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices. Plan to submit your online application in a timely manner, as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This will enhance the security of your online application and ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:

Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD:

All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES :

For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

FAIR CHANCE INITIATIVE:

The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individual assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, regency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed .

ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI) :

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Human Resources is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

ADA COORDINATOR PHONE: (323) 914-6365

CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONE: 800-735-2922

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Jessica Hernandez Gutierrez , Exam Analyst

(213) 288-7000

jhernandezgutierrez@dhs.lacounty.gov

For detailed information, please click here

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• Los Angeles County

• (800) 970-5478

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