Are you a therapist ready to embark on a fulfilling journey to transform children’s lives in a serene natural environment?
As a valued member of our team, you'll have the flexibility to engage with your patients in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings. Our indoor clinic will be available to you as well as a plethora of outdoor spaces including nature trails with activity stations, the farm environment and barn, sensory garden, and other play equipment, and other nature-rich options that offer the perfect backdrop for transformative and enjoyable therapy experiences.
Shining Hope Farms also features a full herd of equines and specially trained PATH Intl. equine professionals who can be utilized for equine movement (hippotherapy) in select therapy sessions. Due to the unique and intensive nature of utilizing equines, this is subject to additional continuing education, performance, and availability, all of which can be discussed during your interview.
Ultimately, we are in search of an enthusiastic team member who has a heart for our mission, is eager to bring their expertise, share insights, and collaborate with us on enhancing our services, ensuring better support for our community, and fostering continuous growth and innovation within our organization.
Don't miss out on the unique chance to combine your passion for therapy with the tranquility of nature. Apply today and join us in making a positive impact on the lives of those we serve!
About Us
Shining Hope Farms is a two-decades old nonprofit organization dedicated to serving individuals in the community who have therapeutic needs but require a different environment or approach that is still evidence-based. We currently offer mental health counseling, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and therapeutic horseback riding between our three locations (Charlotte, Mt. Holly, and Conover, NC). Part of our goal is to provide accessible and affordable services to vulnerable populations, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from our therapeutic programs. We are committed to breaking down barriers to care and creating a welcoming space where individuals can thrive and achieve their goals. By offering a range of therapeutic options in a natural and nurturing environment, we strive to make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve, empowering them to reach their fullest potential.
______________________
Title: Occupational Therapist (OT), Part Time (minimum weekly caseload of 20 patients) or Full Time Options
Reports to: Occupational Therapy Supervisor
The Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluates patient’s needs, creates a treatment plan based on each client’s evaluation, maintains physician prescriptions and client medical information, and gives treatment to patients. The treatment environment includes an indoor clinic setting and the natural farm environment including on-site trails, a sensory garden, playground style equipment, and other enriching features. The therapist will be responsible for documenting all treatment sessions.
Depending upon qualifications and availability, American Hippotherapy Association trained therapists may utilize equine movement as a treatment tool if they so desire. Therapists' goals in this area can be discussed during the interview.
Qualifications
- Must be a licensed OT able to practice in the state of North Carolina.
- Must have 1-2 years of clinical experience
- Must have 1-2 year of pediatric experience
- Strong communication skills – verbal and written.
- Basic computer skills and the ability to communicate via email with attachments and encryptions.
- Excellent time management skills
- Ability to complete treatment documentation quickly and thoroughly
- Ability to work independently.
Working Conditions
- Hours are flexible, based upon therapist's personal schedule and the needs of the practice
- OT will work in an indoor clinic setting, outdoors on the farm, and possibly in an indoor arena setting for those utilizing equine movement.
- Each treatment session includes lots of walking around, and there will be many treatment sessions back to back.
Responsibilities:
(shall include, but are not limited to)
- Treating patients on a weekly basis.
- Cancellations are expected to be rescheduled within 30 days. Therapists have 30 days before and after a missed visit to do makeup appointments in order to maintain their patient caseload on a weekly basis.
- Covering patients for planned absences of SHF OT staff.
- The staff member may have the opportunity to incorporate equine movement for up to 50% of their caseload in accordance with Shining Hope Farms’ equine usage policy. This is also contingent upon completing training from the American Hippotherapy Association, as well as undergoing internal training aligned with their career development plan within the organization and horse availability at time and throughout duration of employment.
- Providing therapy in the clinic or through nature-based therapy/off-mounted activities when equine movement is not part of the treatment strategy.
- Performing evaluations of patients.
- Providing necessary documentation to billing staff for prior authorizations.
- Documenting patient progress with daily progress notes, providing a written plan of care, conducting progress summaries at 6-month intervals, and conducting parent interviews and reporting of progress.
- Working in conjunction with administrative staff to maintain weekly, consistent, client caseload, including communicating cancellations so that sessions can be made up either by you or another OT team member
- Establishing and maintaining contact with patients and their families for scheduling and cancellations.
- Entering billing, evaluation, and treatment information in EMR by the end of the day of the visit and completing notes within 24 hours.
- Maintaining your workspace appropriately, ensuring all patient information is secured, and following procedures for taking any equipment, manuals, evaluation tools, software, etc., off the property with a written request submitted to the office.
- Working with administrative staff to make sure faxes/paperwork are submitted currently and timely
Wages & Benefits
- Therapist will receive a per treatment piece-rate.
- Therapist will be paid a $20 per hour admin rate for any required meetings/trainings.
- Benefits are available to those working full-time.
Compensation Structure
Compensation is structured as a Bundled Piece-Rate for clinical sessions, paired with an Enhanced Administrative Hourly Rate designed to reward and support the extra time required for intensive clinical documentation.
1. Clinical Session Piece-Rate:
This is a comprehensive rate designed to cover both your direct patient-facing time and the routine daily documentation (SOAP notes) associated with that session.
- What it covers: * All patient-facing time: Standard treatment sessions and standalone Evaluations
- Routine session admin: Writing daily SOAP notes, standard parent/patient communication
- Timecard Recording ("Doc Time"): Because your piece-rate already includes payment for both the session and its daily SOAP note, you are effectively "pre-paid" for this writing time. However, to comply with labor laws, you must still log any minutes spent writing daily notes outside of the session as "Doc Time." Your payroll summary will show this specific tracking line at a $0.00 hourly rate because the compensation was already delivered to you through the completed session's piece-rate.
2. Enhanced Documentation & Administrative Rate:
$20 per Hour
While standard industry piece-rates typically expect therapists to absorb all report writing, Shining Hope Farms values the thoroughness required for comprehensive clinical reporting. Therefore, we provide an additional hourly rate specifically to compensate you for the extra work behind intensive documentation and organizational responsibilities.
- What it covers (Paid Hourly):
- Write-up and documentation time specifically for these comprehensive reports: 1) Initial Evaluations 2) Re-evaluations and 3) Updated Plans of Care
- Attending mandatory Shining Hope Farms staff meetings and clinical trainings.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: From $46.00 per hour
Benefits:
Application Question(s):
- Are you credentialed with any insurance companies in North Carolina?
- What is your interest in working in the natural environment for therapy?
- Please describe your pediatric experience. Do you have any specializations or special interests/populations?
- We have three locations (Charlotte and Mt. Holly (which are 15 minutes apart from one another), and Conover, NC). Please confirm which location(s) you are interested in.
- Do you have any experience with hippotherapy? Have you taken any American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) courses? This is not required.
Work Location: In person
