Recreational Therapist

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Serving the needs of Garfield Heights and the Southeast communities of Cuyahoga County, Marymount Hospital is an acute care, faith-based hospital. Here, caregivers are guided by the Christian values of service, compassion, dignity and respect and live by the mission of providing world-class healthcare.  As a part of our team, you will build a rewarding, lifelong career in  a diverse and welcoming environment.

As a Recreational Therapist, you will assist patients with developing and enhancing social, cognitive, physical and emotional skills. Your efforts will focus on implementing treatment plans that best serve and meet the needs of patients of various ages, health backgrounds and demographics. In this role, you will interact with both adult and geriatric patients in group therapy settings, including those managing substance misuse, schizophrenia and mood disorders. Your ability to provide compassionate, person-centered support can leave a lasting positive impact on your community every day.  

A caregiver in this position works Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm with every 3rd weekend required.

A caregiver who excels in this role will:   

• Plan, conduct, direct, and coordinate patients’ needs through innovative and evidence-based therapeutic programming and activities in group and individual settings. 

• Coordinate interdisciplinary programming on the units and participate in team conferences to review patient progress. 

• Train other caregivers in provision of therapeutic programming and activities, including nursing caregivers. 

• Complete assessments for functional and rehabilitative needs that may include activities of daily living, community living skills, social, leisure and vocational skills within 24 hours of admission. 

• Educate patients, family and other caregivers in skills and resources applicable for discharge plan. 

• Document services in accordance with hospital policy and requirements. 

• Effectively and efficiently plan and utilize programming budget, including care and maintenance of equipment. 

• Participate in continuing professional education, departmental teaching and meetings, including hospital and enterprise safety programs identifying risks to patient safety and reducing healthcare errors. 

• Provide relevant in-service training sessions for caregivers. 

• Create treatment plans that meet patients’ needs and interests and educate patients in social skills needed to become or remain independent. 

• Record and analyze a patient’s progress. 

• Evaluate interventions for effectiveness through quality monitoring and improvement processes. 

• Develop and create new applications, ideas, systems or products. 

Minimum qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:   

• Bachelor’s Degree in Recreational Therapy from an accredited school 

• Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) through the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification 

• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification through the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross upon or within 90 days of hire 

• WELLE (Crisis Intervention) training within 90 days of hire and annually thereafter 

Preferred qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:   

• Master’s Degree 

• Experience in healthcare and/or behavioral health setting 

• Knowledge of therapeutic processes, growth and development, limit-setting and establishing/maintaining therapeutic relationships and boundaries appropriate to age of patient population served 

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to maintain balance despite sudden load, in order to support person from falling during gait.
• Ability to lift and reach with arms sufficiently to lift a person's arms or legs during exercise programs.
• Requires the ability to sit and be stationary for prolonged periods of time, normal or corrected vision and manual dexterity sufficient to perform work on a personal computer.
• Requires the ability to travel throughout the hospital system and function in a stressful environment.
• Follows standard precautions using personal protective equipment as required. 

The policy of Cleveland Clinic Health System and its system hospitals (Cleveland Clinic Health System) is to provide equal opportunity to all of our caregivers and applicants for employment in our drug free environment. All offers of employment are followed by testing for controlled substances.

Cleveland Clinic Health System administers an influenza prevention program. You will be required to comply with this program, which will include obtaining an influenza vaccination on an annual basis or obtaining an approved exemption.

Decisions concerning employment, transfers and promotions are made upon the basis of the best qualified candidate without regard to color, race, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran or any other characteristic protected by law. Information provided on this application may be shared with any Cleveland Clinic Health System facility. 

If applying for a Florida position, please see the following website for more information on the background screening requirements required by the Agency of Health Care Administration: https://info.flclearinghouse.com/

Please review the Equal Employment Opportunity poster. 

Cleveland Clinic is pleased to be an equal employment opportunity employer.