Activities Director

Director of ActivitiesJob DescriptionDepartment: Activity DepartmentReport to: AdministratorPOSITION SUMMARYThe Director of Activities provides an ongoing program of activities designed to meet the interest andphysical, mental, and psychological well being of each patient.SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES Supervises activities provided by Activity Assistant Director, Activity Aides, volunteers andothers for whom they are administratively or professionally responsible. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organizational policies andapplicable laws. Supervisory responsibilities include:o Interviews, hires, and trains activity employees and volunteers.o Plans, assigns and directs work.o Prepares work assignment sheets, taking into consideration patient safety, the educationalpreparation, experience, knowledge and ability of staff.o Receives calls and finds replacements for absent staff.o Prepares performance evaluations with the understanding such evaluations impact tenureof probationary employees and wage increases of non-probationary employees.o Schedules and adjusts lunch and rest breaks.o Approves errors in time cards or other timekeeping records.o Receives and resolves employee complaints.o Monitors and corrects job performance of employees.o Disciplines employees up to and including discharge.o Adequately supervises assigned staff and assures that those staff are supervisingemployees assigned to them. Uses independent judgment and discretion on behalf of the organization in the performance ofthese duties.QUALIFICATIONSEducation/Experience/Certifications/Licenses/Registrations: A qualified therapeutic recreation specialist or an activities professional whoo Is licensed or registered, if applicable, by the State in which practicing; ando Is eligible for certification as a therapeutic recreation specialist or as an activitieso professional by a recognized accrediting body on or after October 1, 1990; oro Has 2 years of experience in a social or recreational program within the last 5 years, 1 ofo which was full-time in a patient activities program in a health care setting; oro Is a qualified occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant; oro Has completed a training course approved by the State.Minimum Qualifications: Freedom from use of and effects of use drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Meets state and federal criminal background check requirements.ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIESTo perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each key function satisfactorily.Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the keyfunctions. Completes assessments, MDS, care plans and gathers information to design activities that aremulti-faceted, meets resident’s functional levels, and reflects needs and interests of each resident. Provides stimulation or solace, promotes physical, cognitive and/or emotional health. Offers activities that enhance each resident’s physical and mental status. Promotes each resident’s self-respect by providing activities that support self-expression andchoice. Offers activities that involve facility, staff, volunteers and visitors. Provides residents who are confined or choose to remain in their rooms with in-room activities in keeping with life-long interest (music, reading, visits with individuals who share their interests or reasonable attempts to connect the resident with such individuals) and in-room project they can work on independently. Informs residents when activities are occurring; encourages their involvement in activities. Occasionally assists with escorting residents to and from activities. Maintains sufficient activity supplies. Interviews residents, interested family members, legal representatives and significant others toobtain and update information needed to develop individualized activities programs, toaccommodate individual needs and preferences and to protect and promote resident’s rights. Attends care conferences with members of the interdisciplinary team to develop, implement and evaluate plans of care. Communicates residents’ concerns and responses to interventions to interdisciplinary teammembers and to direct care staff. Develops and coordinate individual, group and bed side activities that reflect the needs andinterests of residents. Coordinates resident outings. Schedules routine schedules for cleaning equipment and materials. Identifies ways to accommodate resident choices, preferences, functional capacity and customary routines in activities. Includes these approaches in plan of care and gives this information to direct care staff. Posts monthly activities calendars that:o Reflects the schedules, choices and rights of the residents,o Offers activities at hours convenient for the residents,o Reflects the cultural and religious interests of the resident population,o Appeals to both men and women and all age groups living in the facility. Performs daily rounds and observations of activities in progress. Records progress notes in the clinical record including subjective findings, objective symptoms,observations of behavior, interventions provided to resident and their responses to activityinterventions. Review chart entries written by activities staff for completeness and accuracy. Completes documentation accurately and timely. Participates in the development of the department budget. Provides relevant financial information to Administrator regarding department financial needs and status. Actively participates in long term care survey process and works with Administrator to developresponses to survey report as needed. Participates in facility committees as required. Interprets Company policy and makes decisions based on the application of those policies where applicable. Exercise unimpaired judgment in the interest of the Company. Performs other duties as assigned.LANGUAGE SKILLSMust be able to speak and write in the English language in an understandable manner. Ability to read,analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures orgovernmental regulations. Ability to write business correspondence. Ability to effectively presentinformation and respond quickly to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers and thegeneral public.REASONING ABILITYAbility to define and solve problems, collects data, establish facts and draws valid conclusions. Abilityto understand a variety of technical instructions in statistical or diagram form and deal with abstract andconcrete variables. Ability to identify processes for improvement in daily work; educate new staff inteam process.LEADERSHIPDemonstrates willingness to try new tasks, generates new ideas for change; evaluates and recognizespriorities, selects effective team members, challenges others to learn, keeps current and integrates newinformation, communicates and models organization values, fosters high performance, recognizes needfor and provides adequate resources.INTERPERSONAL SKILLSDemonstrates active listening techniques; gains support through effective relationships; treats other with dignity and respect; seeks feedback; sets clear standards for performance; evaluates job performance and provides effective feedback; establishes systems to measure effectiveness, efficiency, and service; creates and maintains reporting mechanisms.CONTINUING EDUCATIONAttends in-service and education programs and attends continuing education required for maintenance of professional certification or licensure.RESIDENT RIGHTSPromotes and protects residents’ rights; assists residents to make informed decisions; treats residentswith dignity and respect; protects residents’ personal belongings; reports suspected abuse or neglect;avoids the need for physical restraints in accordance with current professional standards; supportsindependent expression, choice and decision-making consistent with applicable law and regulation.INFECTION CONTROLApplies hand washing principles during daily work; demonstrates understanding of isolation andstandard precautions; recognizes signs and symptoms of infection and complies with the employeehealth program; demonstrates understanding of the process for identifying and handling infectiouswaste; maintains personal hygiene; complies with OSHA standards in the work place; and demonstratesunderstanding of cross-contamination.MATHEMATICAL SKILLSAbility to work with mathematical concepts such as statistical process control tools and budgets.Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios and proportions to practical situations.INFORMATION MANAGEMENTComputer knowledge and use is required. Enters or records data timely and accurately, protectsconfidentiality of patient information, protects data against loss or destruction, logs onto the systemusing own password, logs off the system when leaving the work station, reports suspected violation ofsecurity/confidentiality issues, review data and identifies trends and deletes passwords of employees nolonger needing access to software programs.WORK ENVIRONMENTThe work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounterswhile performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made toenable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties ofthis job, the employee is occasionally exposed to blood or other body fluids, fumes or airborne particlesand toxic or caustic chemicals. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.ENVIRONMENT OF CAREDemonstrates understanding of fire and emergency procedures; participates in fire and disaster drills;maintains emergency supplies and equipment; demonstrates understanding of safety and securityprocedures; applies safety and security precautions; demonstrates understanding of hazardous materials plan; demonstrates proper use of equipment.CORPORATE COMPLIANCEReport issues affecting resident care to the Administrator. If issues continue, the Corporate ComplianceOfficer should be contacted immediately through the Concern Resolution Program.PHYSICAL DEMANDSThe physical demands described here representative those that must be met by an employee tosuccessfully perform the essential functions of the job. While performing the duties of this job, theemployee is frequently required to stand and walk, use hands to finger, reach with hands and arms, talkor hear. The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb or balance and stoop, squat or kneel. Theemployee will frequently will assist to lift and/or transfer objects weighing up to 50 pounds. Specificvision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and peripheral vision.JOB DESCRIPTION REVIEWI understand this job description for the Director of Activities, its requirements, and that I am expectedto complete all duties as assigned. I understand the job duties, may be altered from time to time. I havenoted below any accommodations that are required to enable me to perform these duties. I have alsonoted below any job duties that I am unable to perform, with or without accommodation.My Signature Authorizes That I Have Read and Understand the above Job DescriptionEmployee:Signature:Date:CC: Employee FileEmployeeIt is the policy of this facility to recruit, hire, train, compensate and in all ways treat all staff members without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, military status status, genetic information or other characteristics protected by applicable law.