Therapeutic Recreation Specialist - Medical/ Facility Dog Handler- Children's and Women's Hospital

s, campuses, clinics, and classrooms. We offer patients convenient access to innovative treatments and advancements that improve the health and overall well-being of our community.

Responsibilities
• Abides by and enforces all compliance requirements and policies and performs these responsibilities in an ethical manner consistent with the
• organizations values.
• Adheres to hospital policies including confidentiality.
• Requires regular and prompt attendance.
• Works the assigned schedule including overtime.
• Assists with the orientation of new employees.
• Provides therapeutic and recreational activities.
• Provides orientation and conveys program philosophy for new employees, physicians, volunteers and students.
• Requires minimal supervision to safely perform patient care and essential functions.
• Utilizes proper body mechanics when moving equipment and/or supplies that are necessary to perform essential functions.
• Reports broken or malfunctioning equipment to supervisor or department head.
• Provide therapeutic interventions and focus on recovery in common hospital settings; Rehabilitation: Focusing on physical recovery for patients with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), or stroke. Psychiatric & Behavioral Health: Addressing mental health needs such as depression, anxiety, or substance use through stabilization and deescalation activities. Acute Care & Specialty Units: Working with pediatric, adult, and oncology patients to maintain quality of life during intensive medical treatment.
• Patient Assessment: Evaluate the patients physical, cognitive, social, and emotional functioning, as well as their leisure interests.
• Provides therapeutic Interventions: Facilitate individual or group sessions designed to restore or maintain functional abilities (e.g., motor skills, social interaction, or coping mechanisms)
• Procedural Support: Use therapeutic techniques to reduce patient anxiety, manage pain non-pharmacologically, and increase relaxation during invasive medical procedures.
• (CTRS) in end-of-life (EOL) and palliative care focuses on maximizing quality of life and comfort for patients whose medical goals have shifted from curative to palliative and supporting families through the grieving process.
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Review medical records and consult with the care team to integrate therapeutic recreation into the broader medical treatment plan.
• Treatment Implementation: Leading individualized or group sessions using modalities like adaptive sports, creative arts, animal-assisted therapy, and relaxation techniques.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation: Designing exercises and activities that focus on memory, executive functioning, attention processing, and strategies for executive function deficits.
• Advocacy: Champion the psychosocial needs of the the patient and family within the healthcare team.
• Discharge & Leisure Planning: Educating patients on healthy coping skills and connecting them with community resources to ensure independence after they leave the hospital.
• Assists with the coordination and supervision of hospital volunteers, student interns and clinical observers.
• Communicates and uses appropriate customer relation skills with physicians, patients, families, healthcare team and staffing, in person and via telephone.
• Education & Preparation: Offer age-appropriate explanations for medical procedures, diagnoses, and treatment plans
• Maintains accurate and complete records by: Medical Record Entry: Maintain accurate and timely documentation in Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, including initial assessments, progress notes, and discharge summaries.
• Documenting Child Life plans of care, assessments, interventions, interactions and responses for designated patient populations.
• Documenting teaching of therapy recommendations given to patients, parents, family.
• Accepts and completes all duties positively and without conflict.
• Cooperates, helps others and improves the performance of the unit.
• Completes all mandatory unit, educational and hospital requirements.
• Utilizes cost effective practices in performing all aspects of the job.
• Demonstrates the ability to provide competent patient care to the following patient populations: Neonate, Infant, Toddler/Preschool, School age/Adolescent, Reproductive Age and Adult.
• Participates on committees as assigned. Participates in Performance Improvement activities and professional development opportunities, as required
• Communication: High proficiency in translating Complex medical terminology into “kid-friendly” language for patients and providing trauma-informed
• support for families.
• High levels of compassion, creativity, and patience are vital for working with children in pain or with disabilities.
• Physical Requirements: The role often requires standing for long periods, bending to child-height, and the ability to lift or move pediatric equipment.
• Emotional Resilience: High capacity for maintaining professional boundaries while working in high-stress clinical settings like the ICU or ED.
• Completes all mandatory department, educational and hospital requirements
• Adheres to current Infection Control and Safety Standards
• Regular and prompt attendance
• Ability to work schedule as defined and overtime as required
• Related duties as assigned

Additional Information

Employees must be in a regular position, working 20 hours or more per week (.50 FTE or greater) to qualify for benefits.

Qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree in therapeutic recreation. Required
• Experience in a healthcare or pediatric setting. Preferred
• CTRS - Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist within 1 Year Required
• Comparable combination of education and experience may substitute for the above requirements.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

The University of South Alabama is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable legally protected basis. EO Employer – minorities/females/veterans/disabilities/sexual orientation/gender identity.