*This position provides services campus-wide in several treatment units, therefore there will be some oversight from the individual Rehab Department unit supervisor in addition to overall supervision from the OT/clinical supervisor. *This position is a part of the rapid discharge program which aids in expediting patient's discharge into the community. As a part of the rapid discharge program, this position is required to work one weekend per month.
Central State Hospital (CSH) is a 277 bed Joint Commission accredited psychiatric inpatient facility located in Petersburg, Virginia. CSH has proudly been serving citizens of the Commonwealth since 1870, when we opened our doors as the first psychiatric hospital in the country dedicated to the treatment of African Americans. A new and modern CSH is currently under construction on the same property, with a scheduled completion date of 2027.
CSH maintains the only maximum-security treatment facility in the state (111 beds). We also have 166 beds available for individuals in the community who need inpatient care, as well as individuals in the criminal justice system. We believe that treatment should be holistic and focused on the person’s individual needs, recognizing that recovery is not linear or the same for every person. Treatment modalities may include medication, evidence-based group and individual therapy, peer support, psychosocial rehabilitation, vocational training, preparation for court, and treatment for substance use.
Central State Hospital is recruiting for an Occupational Therapist to join our Pilot Program – Rapid Discharge team, an innovative initiative focused on helping adults ages 18 to 64 with serious mental illness, substance use histories, intellectual and physical disabilities, and trauma backgrounds transition successfully back into the community. The Occupational Therapist will plan, facilitate, and co-facilitate therapeutic interventions—both group and one-on-one—during the day, evenings, weekends, and holidays. These functionally based activities are designed to promote recovery, build hope, and restore clients to their highest level of independence. The therapist will also document client participation and progress according to hospital and departmental policies and collaborate as an active member of the interdisciplinary treatment team, providing critical input on each client’s response to treatment and adapting plans as needed to support timely and successful discharges.
Job duties include, but are not limited to:
Active Treatment
- Plans and implements up to 18 hours of active treatment services for adult seriously mentally ill clients that are appropriate, meet the client’s assessed needs and are in accordance with department standards and programs description. As much as possible, involve the client in the decision making and group planning process. - Ensure that the clients’ treatment interventions are integrated with the plans established by the treatment teams and are carried over to the clients’ active treatment program. - Ensures that attendance and punctuality support active treatment and service delivery. - Ensures all treatment activities are covered including evening, weekends and holidays. Fully informs supervisors regarding coverage of scheduled activities. This position is required to work one weekend per month. - Expected to drive/operate state cars, wheelchair equipped bus, and 15 passenger van to transport clients to activities and groups on campus and out into the community. - Encourage persons served to have hope and positive expectations for their recovery
Treatment Team/Planning Process
- Participates in the multidisciplinary treatment team process which includes attending daily Morning Briefings, team meetings as scheduled, completion of the referral process and assistance with treatment planning process in the clients Electronic Health Record. - Provides information regarding the client’s outcomes to both the team members and appropriate Rehab Department Staff. - Facilitates the completion of temporary schedules and referrals for new and existing clients within the time frame defined in the Rehab Departments standards and assists with the development of the client’s treatment plan using person centered goals, providing updates to the team and the client on client’s outcomes, as well as to appropriate Rehab Department Staff.
Assessments
- Completes Rehab assessments (initial and/or annual updates) which determine client’s functional, learning, communication, vocational and educational strengths and needs. Complete ILS evaluations as needed. - Ensures that assessments also identify any problems related to use of substances, ongoing MI treatment needs, and functional needs related to discharge. - Ensures that assessments are completed according to department and hospital standards for time and content. - Complete ILS, ADL, cognitive, physical, positioning and sensorimotor evaluations as needed. Ability to articulate recommended skilled occupational therapy interventions to the treatment team, client, family members, and nursing staff.
Self Management
- Ensuring that working relationships with clients, peers, supervisor and other individuals involved in the care of clients demonstrates effective communication, respect, compromise, support, and active listening. - Supporting the hospitals mission and goals as communicated by the supervisor. - Ensuring that attendance and punctuality to work support active treatment and service delivery. - Following established safety and other hospital and department policies and procedures. - Analyzing and assisting with problem identification and resolution in the work environment. - Taking responsibility of own actions and behaviors. - Identifying and resolving issues and problems. - Accepting and providing feedback. - Consistently demonstrates an attitude of respect and empowerment to the patients and other staff by: - Demonstrates good negotiation skills in deescalating problematic patient behaviors. - Encourage the use of other alternative coping strategies to avoid seclusion and restraint episodes. - Minimizes the use of verbal interactions indicating a need to "control" patients. - Demonstrates a willing attitude in the use of least restrictive interventions per hospital policy. - Demonstrates an awareness of and respect for coworkers, clients, and individual’s cultural background. - Ensures professional self-development as evidenced by attending/completing a minimum of 1 training/in-service per quarter offered by the CSH Training Department.
Documentation
- Chart progress towards objective in assigned client’s chart at least once monthly for group(s) co/facilitated. New clients will be charted on weekly for progress towards objective. - Ensure that medical record documentation done in assigned client medical record is current and meets Hospital and Department standards for content and timeliness - Ensuring timely and accurate information is entered into the hospitals automated client tracking system weekly. To include weekend/evening attendance and active treatment groups. - Document any reportable incidents on event report form and submit to proper supervisor. - Have written transcriptions that are legible, grammatically correct and logical.
Statistical Reports
- Submits timely and accurate Clinician Reports by the third working day of each month to immediate supervisor. - Ensures Clinician Report has been reviewed for corrections, corrected as necessary, signed and submitted to supervisor within three working days of month end. - Submits to supervisor on or before the 15th of previous month working schedule including coverage.
Administrative Tasks
- Attended and contribute to all scheduled meetings. - Schedule and attend all mandatory training to maintain compliance. - Submits timekeeping/KRONOS related paperwork (leave slips/coverage, Schedule Change forms, and Time Clock Adjustment forms) to supervisor according to department timekeeping policy. - Assess the need for and obtain equipment, tools, materials and supplies to provide rehab services to clients. - Ensure that proper maintenance and accountability is completed on all equipment to ensure safety and security of the clients. - Maintain assigned storage in a neat, clean and organized manner to ensure a safe and secure environment for clients and staff. - Maintain office and group areas in a neat, clean and organized manner. - Complete other duties as assigned (bulletin boards, special event flyers, hall posts, refrigerator temps. transportation, etc.) - Ensure that all certification and Personnel Folder information is up to date. - Ensures that assigned Occupational Therapy students receive a quality educational placement. Evaluates and holds students responsible for high ethical standards and quality job performance. Gives timely job performance feedback to students, serves as a professional role model, and completes and submits required student evaluation forms in a timely manner. Attends job specific/discipline specific continuing Education. Assumes responsibility for personal and professional growth and development. - Ensures that all licensing and certification is current. - Other duties as assigned, including but not limited to special projects, bulletin boards, storage area maintenance, transportation/escort or serving in emergency management support roles during disasters.
Minimum Qualifications
REQUIRED: - Degree (grad/undergrad) from an accredited School of Occupational Therapy. - National registration (or eligibility) and licensure (or eligibility) from Virginia State Board of Medicine to practice an OT. - Work/internship experience dealing with various types of mental and physical disorders, people of all ages, and experience in evaluating, establishing treatment intervention and assessing effectiveness of treatment interventions. - Valid Virginia driver’s license.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required to Successfully Perform the Work:
- Proficient in both verbal and written communication skills with staff, client, community providers, and family members. - Skilled in the ability to develop, plan, and implement occupational therapy interventions and groups utilizing a multi-modalities approach along with evidenced based treatment and trauma informed strategies that promote recovery and functional outcomes. - Ability to clinically assess both psychosocial and physical deficits and implement occupational therapy interventions accordingly. - Additional duties will include (but are not limited to) operating a state vehicle to include cars, wheelchair equipped minibus and 15 passenger van, participating in special unit activities (unit/dept/hospital), utilizing TOVA techniques with clients, and working irregular work week and hours when necessary and Awareness of safety and security procedures.
Additional Considerations
PREFERRED: • Previous OT experience working in a psychiatric in-patient hospital setting.
Special Instructions
You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.
Central State Hospital only accepts online applications via RMS. Resumes and other documents may accompany the application but will not serve as a substitute for an application. Faxed, e-mailed, or mailed applications will not be accepted. Please refer to your RMS account for the status of your application and this position. This posting will remain open for a minimum of five (5) business days.
An extensive criminal history background investigation, not limited to employment references, drug testing and E-Verify will be conducted.
Central State Hospital offers a comprehensive benefit package to include your choice of four health insurance plans, paid life insurance and retirement plans, 12 paid holidays, annual and sick leave.
Applicants must list all relevant experience that you wish to be considered for this position. Applicants will be provided confirmation of receipt when your application and/or resume is submitted. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position. A fingerprint-based criminal history check and reference checks are required for the selected candidate for this position. Under Virginia Code §37.2-314 and 37.2-408.1, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is prohibited from employing or using as volunteers, persons who have been convicted of specific “barrier” crimes or persons who may be the subject of pending “barrier” charges.
DBHDS facilities are no longer required to ensure that all staff members are vaccinated against COVID-19. However, facilities encourage and educate staff on the benefits, and continue to offer COVID-19 vaccination programs to staff, residents/clients. Employees may be required to disclose immunization status for purposes of infection prevention and/or management of outbreaks. Upon acceptance of a job offer, new recruits will be asked to disclose their vaccination status (and for those fully vaccinated, proof of vaccination) during the pre-employment process. If you have any questions, contact the Office of Human Resources.
Commonwealth’s Alternate Hiring Process: In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their Certificate of Disability (COD) provided by a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS, to get their Certificate of Disability. To obtain a Certificate of Disability go to: https://www.vadars.org/drs/cpid/PWContact.aspx, or call DARS at 800-552-5019.
Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during the application and/or interview process per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact Human Resources at (804) 524-7111 for assistance.
DBHDS is an equal Opportunity Employer. Employment opportunities are open to all regardless of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, political affiliation, genetics, or disability. Minorities, Individuals with Disabilities, Veterans, and people with National Service experience are encouraged to apply. EEO/AA/TTY
Contact Information
Name: Human Resources
Phone: 1-804-524-7111
Email: CSHRecruitment@dbhds.virginia.gov
In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.
Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.
Each agency within the Commonwealth of Virginia is dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and maintaining a competent and diverse work force. Equal Opportunity Employer
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