Clinical Therapist Ii-Part Time At Fitzsimons Veterans Community Living Center - Aurora

Department Information

Please note: This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

Office of Adult, Aging and Disability Services

Colorado Veterans Community Living Center at Fitzsimons

Colorado Veterans Community Living Center (VCLC) at Fitzsimons is a beautiful 180-bed, skilled nursing facility serving Colorado's veterans. We strive to honor and respect those living in our community through companionship and person-centered care while providing a comfortable and safe place to live. At Fitzsimons, we provide long-term and short-term rehab, have a secured memory care neighborhood, and are conveniently located on the medical campus with UC Hospital and the Aurora VA Medical Center. Fitzsimons celebrates a low 18% staff turnover rate and substantial longevity among staff.

The purpose of this work unit is to plan, organize, and facilitate a recreational program to meet the cultural, social, educational, psychological, physical, and spiritual needs and interests of the residents. To promote opportunities to engage in normal lifelong pursuits, including the residents' choice of religious activities. Encourage and develop programming for community outings. Provide opportunities for residents to participate in the therapeutic volunteer program.

Visit us online at: www.colorado.gov/cdhs/veteranshomes/fitzsimons

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Description of Job

The shifts covered by this position may vary to include weekends, evening shifts, and holiday coverage.

Shifts are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday day shift

Please note: Shifts are subject to change based on the needs of the facility.

The purpose of this position is to enable individuals to enhance their lives by utilizing leisure and recreational skills. This is done by assisting individuals to identify their leisure values, attitudes, needs, and goals. To keep the residents functioning at the highest level possible in all dimensions of life, cultural, educational, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. Leisure and recreational pursuits promote independence and provide opportunities for socialization. Recreational interests are important to their physical health and provide opportunities for residents to make a contribution to others and eliminate boredom.

Job Duties:

Programming Needs of Our Residents

• Plans, facilitates, and evaluates a diversified program of recreation and leisure that is designed to meet the interests and needs of each individual resident and/or neighborhood.

• Develop the calendar of programs for the neighborhood assigned to meet the needs of the residents living in that neighborhood.

• Educates other team members on the recreational needs of individuals living on their assigned neighborhoods.

• Ensures that programs include opportunities for cognitive stimulation, cultural, social, educational, recreation, physical, spiritual, psychological, and creative endeavors, and programs that provide them the opportunity to be of service to others that meet the individual needs of each resident through their disease, illness and/or disability.

• Prepares and facilitates daily programs and individualized programming for the neighborhood assigned.

• Provides one-on-one therapeutic programming to residents who have been evaluated to need these services, strives for specific Responses and interactions from those in need, and documents the resident response to the interventions.

• Encourages and develops programming for community contacts.

Documentation and Paperwork

• Conducts initial recreational assessment on new residents by collecting data and history of recreational and leisure lifestyle through interviews with residents and/or family members and observation.

• Develop a plan of care with the individual that will meet their goals and objectives for their recreational and leisure needs.

• Attends neighborhood resident care conferences for all those he/she serves to update the interdisciplinary team and the family on the individual's progress toward set goals.

• Completes necessary MDS, progress notes, annual reviews, quarterly reviews, and Medicare documentation for residents assigned.

• Updates recreational assessments annually or as required by regulation.

• Develop and facilitate Therapeutic Volunteer Programs for individual residents in need of meaningful work and purpose in life, in addition to their recreational plan of care.

Coordinating Services

• Coordinates working hours to coincide with the needs of the recreation program, which includes evenings and weekends.

• Coordinates recreational programming times, content, and location with nursing services, housekeeping, and dietary staff.

• Organizes kitchen requests for special functions with the dietary department and linen requests through laundry services. This also includes coordinating adapted food requests for those in need of altered diets or restricted diets.

• Assisting with greenhouse and/or aviary programs as needed.

Organization

• Develop a list of needed supplies and acquire them for recreational programs on the calendar, use for independent pursuits, and spontaneous activities to occur within the facility.

• Maintains purchasing cards within state and facility guidelines and budget for the department.

• Conducts outings of choice by the residents and ensures the safety of the residents while outside the facility.

• Works with transportation staff while on outings to ensure the safety of residents.

Meetings and other duties as assigned

• Attends departmental staff meetings, in-services, morning meetings/clinical reports for assigned neighborhoods, and all other meetings relative to the position, including professional and educational opportunities.

• Attends committee meetings as assigned.

• Completes Cornerstone (training) assignments.

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Minimum Qualifications:

Experience Only

Five years of experience working with seniors/memory care, and/or in a long-term care setting

OR

Education and Experience

A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position equal to five (5) years. (i.e. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Recreation, Social Work, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, or a closely related field of study AND one year of experience).

Substitutions:

None

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with memory care

• 5+ years experience in long-term care and/or assisted living care center

• Experience facilitating recreation or assisting with programming for seniors (or any population)

• Experience in art therapy and/or music therapy

• Experience in documentation, charting, and writing skills, experience in those areas and/or facilitation

• Experience with electronic medical records

Conditions of Employment:

• Must complete and pass TB test and any other vaccinations as required by the facility.

• Full background check to include CBI name check and fingerprint check, ICON Colorado court database, Medicare fraud database, Reference Checks, Drug Screen, CAPS (direct contact with adults - Mental Health Institutes, Regional Centers, Veterans Community Living Centers).

• Must possess a current, valid U.S. driver's license.

• Shifts may vary, including weekends, evening shifts, and holiday coverage.

• This position is considered "essential service designation," meaning the selected candidate will be required to report without delay or interruption to provide essential or emergency services to ensure health, safety, and welfare.

• May be required to transport residents in state vehicles.

• Must be able to independently set up events, such as lifting and arranging tables independently.

• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.

Appeal Rights:

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgment of the department's action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

Supplemental Information

How to Apply

The Assessment Process

For additional recruiting questions, please contact annette.torrez@state.co.us

About Us:

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans

• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account

• Paid life insurance

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave

• BenefitHub state employee discount program

• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe

• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more!

• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more

information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs.

Our Values:

We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~

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