Recreational Therapist

Want to make a difference in someone's life?

Join the Lifeways team serving the community since 1964. We are a progressive behavioral health organization specializing in helping people in our community achieve and maintain emotional and social well-being. 

Lifeways is currently seeking a Recreational Therapist for our Hospital Location in Boise, ID.

Lifeways provides the following benefits: 

• Health, dental, vision plans
• 401k with company contribution
• Voluntary benefits
• life and short-term disability, etc.
• Generous PTO plan
• Wellness plan
• Professional development funds
• Life balance-oriented organization  

Please apply online at https://www.lifeways.org/careers-1

Description: Recreational Therapy Employees work with patients to restore motor, social, and cognitive functioning.  Recreational Therapy Employees increase patients’ self-confidence in symptom management by educating patients on how to utilize positive coping skills.  Recreational Therapy Employees educate patients on how to integrate skills learned in treatment settings into a community setting.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

1. The Recreational Therapy Employee will oversee the department group and meeting activities to ensure that groups and meetings are conducted by qualified and trained staff.
2. The Recreational Therapy Employee will train and supervise staff conducting groups and meetings.
3. The Recreational Therapy Employee will ensure that group/meeting schedules are maintained and will apprise and educate nursing/psychiatric technicians of the changes.

1. The Recreational Therapy Employee conduct the “Recreational Therapy Initial Assessment” with patients within 72 hours of admission.
2. The Recreational Therapy Employee will conduct the symptom management, journaling and other meetings as indicated.

• The Recreational Therapy Employee will invite patients to the groups and will provide the patients who did not attend group with the group materials. Patients who have not attended groups for more than 48 hours, the Recreational Therapy director and or assistant will work with the patient 1:1 to identify barriers to participation and develop interventions to increase participation and document in patient progress notes and in the patient’s treatment plan.

1. The Recreational Therapy Employee will ensure that all groups are being properly documented for each patient daily and ensure the notes reflect each patients attendance and participation level, with written comments assessing each patients progress towards recreational therapy treatment goals, and ensure staff signatures/check boxes are completed.
2. The Recreational Therapy Employee will educate patients on and encourage utilization of symptom management through increased self-awareness and understanding of stressors/triggers/barriers; the use of positive coping skills, identification of personal and community support systems, and awareness of outpatient resources.
3. Initiates the Recreational Therapy Treatment Plan at 24 hours for each patient. Once the Recreational Therapy Assessment has been completed, personalize the Treatment Plan to reflect patients learning styles and preferences, positive outlets, coping strategies, and what groups and interventions the patient would most benefit from.

• The Recreational Therapy Employee will complete a discharge note on each discharged patient’s recreational therapy assigned treatment plan(s).
• The Recreational Therapy Employee will distribute therapeutic aids (art supplies, journals, sensory tools, etc.) to patients upon request and documents distribution and return of all distributed recreational therapy supplies.

1. The Recreational Therapy Employee will participate in Treatment Team and provide a report to the Treatment Team about group attendance for the week as well as a synopsis of group participation.
2. The Recreational Therapy Employee will participate in daily standup meeting.
3. The Recreational Therapy Employee is responsible for ensuring that staff conducting groups/meetings are qualified, properly trained and are observed conducting a group for 3 times before conducting a group/meeting unaccompanied.

• The Recreational Therapy Employee will participate in the quality assurance performance improvement program.
• The Recreational Therapy Employee will collect data as indicated in the quality assurance performance and present data at the monthly Q.A.P.I meeting and governing board meeting.
• The Recreational Therapy Employee will identify areas of improvement for the department and present them to Q.A.P.I and governing board as a collaborative process. Then the areas identified will be presented by the director to the staff at the monthly staff meetings. 

1. The Recreational Therapist will update the Community Board in the hallway with unit schedules, group guidelines, and resources. The Recreational Therapy Director will also ensure the unit schedules and group guidelines are updated in the patient admission packet.

• The Recreational Therapy Employee will write a Behavioral Care Plans as indicated when a patient will be discharging to the following levels of care (group home, ALF, SNF).
• The Recreational Therapy Employee will maintain a current file of resources to refer patients to in the community that may assist the patients with housing, transportation, government assistance programs, support groups, etc.
• The Recreational Therapy Employee report to the director of Social Services.

Skills and Specifications:

1. Demonstrates the ability to communicate with others (staff, patients, families, and providers) in a clear, concise, professional, and timely manner.
2. Demonstrates excellent written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and knowledge of requirements for recreational therapy at psychiatric hospitals.
3. Possesses the ability to analyze and evaluate data to modify and individualize the treatment plan interventions and achieve positive outcomes.
4. Demonstrates competence in performing MANDT de-escalation techniques in order to maintain a safe and therapeutic environment for patients and staff.
5. Maintains current CPR and MANDT Certification.
6. Understands and is able to verbalize/demonstrate skills used for symptom management/behavioral modification, and other methods to assist patients in reaching their treatment goals.
7. Demonstrates competence in documenting all required aspects of patient care related to recreational therapy and communicating patient information to appropriate staff.
8. Demonstrates understanding and utilization for the basic principles of guarding the public, patients, and staff safety related to confidentiality and right to know and demonstrates a thorough understanding of HIPAA and how it applies to recreational therapy.
9. The Recreational Therapy Employee verbalizes basic principles and concepts of QAPI and works to optimize the value of recreational therapy in the overall treatment of patients and works towards improved patient outcomes.