Occupational Therapist

Project Renewal is a leading non-profit organization with the mission of building supportive communities where people achieve dignity and independence, renewing their lives with health, homes, and jobs. Our comprehensive and integrated 24/7 programs are designed to offer the holistic care our clients need. With a staff of 950+ and an annual budget of $140 million, Project Renewal is one of the larger social service nonprofits in New York City.

Title:                   Occupational Therapist

Program:           Geffner Residence       

Salary:               $90,000.00         

Program Description:

Geffner House is a congregate, permanent supportive housing program in the Times Square neighborhood of Manhattan across from Port Authority. The program houses 304 single men and women who are transitioning from chronic homelessness, at risk for homelessness, or low-income working individuals. Onsite services include Case Management, Occupational Therapy, and Nursing, and mental Health services are provided via telepsychiatry. Residents are housed in single room occupancy (SRO) efficiency units.  As many of the residents are older adults with complex needs, our OT-driven HOPE (Helping Older People Engage) Program provides additional support and services to facilitate healthy and dignified aging in place.

Overall Responsibilities:

The Occupational Therapist will be responsible for designing and implementing OT programming at Geffner House under the guidance of the designated Senior Occupational Therapist and/or Director of Occupational Therapy and in collaboration with the other OT on site. The primary goals of this programming will be to:

• Provide direct OT treatment to facilitate the development of each client’s ability to perform activities of daily living with the highest degree of safety and independence possible.
• Collaborate as a member of the multidisciplinary team to achieve overall program goals around housing stability and client health and wellbeing.
• Provide a therapeutic structure to the daily operation of the programs which promotes client participation and enables clients to utilize their time in a productive and meaningful way.
• Co-lead older-adult specific programming and all related activities for the HOPE (Helping Older People Engage) Program.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential duties and responsibilities of the Occupational Therapist include but are not limited to:

•  Working with program leadership to identify primary goals and role of OT on site.
•  Ensuring that all residents are aware of the OT program and services available.
•  Working with Case Managers and other key staff to identify clients in need of services
•  Conducting individual client assessments and generating client-centered intervention plans.
• Developing, implementing, and leading skill-based OT groups to address clients’ needs and goals.

• Conducting 1:1 OT sessions focused on developing skills for effective ADL performance
• Conducting home assessments and facilitating home modifications and adaptive equipment implementation as needed.
• Implementing specific programming to assist older clients with goals of aging in place.
• Conducting BIS (Behavioral Indicators of Stability) for all HOPE clients to facilitate housing stability and opportunities for aging in place.
• Co-leading Food Pantry operations to facilitate food security among clients.
• Assisting with linking clients to appropriate internal PRI resources.
• Assisting with linking clients to appropriate community-based services.
• Escorting clients to appointments in the community as clinically indicated.
• Planning program-wide special events to foster engagement and community-building.
• Documenting all clinical work as per program requirements.
• Participating in all HOPE-related activities and fostering a safe and inclusive community for older adult clients.
• Collaborating with PEQA to develop metrics and collect data to inform best practice and grant funding procurement.
• Providing clinical supervision to the OT Interns on site as indicated.
• Collaborating with all members of the multidisciplinary team for effective coordination of care.
• Collaborating with OT colleagues across programs to facilitate connections to care and coordination of services.
• Participating in weekly clinical team meetings, case conferences, high-risk calls, and staff meetings as indicated.
• Participating in monthly OT Department Meetings.
• Participating in weekly supervision with the assigned Senior OT supervisor.

Qualifications:

• Candidates must have a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree in Occupational Therapy as well as current valid NYS licensure, or temporary licensure at time of hire.
• Training and/or experience in community based behavioral health is strongly preferred but not essential.
• Training and/or experience working with older adults is strongly preferred but not essential. Candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to inclusion, equity, and trauma-informed practice.

Project Renewal is an equal opportunity employer.  Its long-standing policy has been to embrace the equality of opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, religion or creed, gender (see separately issued Gender Discrimination policy for more detail), physical or mental disability, age (18 and over), military status, arrest record, marital status, domestic partnership status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking, unemployment status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.