What Do Occupational Therapy Assistants Do? They’re Helping Reduce Hospital Readmission Rates

It’s natural to ask “What does an occupational therapy assistant do?” when you hear others say they want to become an occupational therapy assistant – an OTA. Describing the benefits of becoming an OTA is easy. As an OTA, you’re on the front line of providing help and hope to those facing developmental, emotional, sensory, and mental difficulties.

Those who love working with people and are enthusiastic about figuring out ways to help others reach their potential do great as OTAs. Even better, the health care industry is fast recognizing the benefits of occupational therapy.

Case Example: Lowering Hospital Readmission Rates

An independent study by health policy researchers published in Medical Care Research and Review reported that “occupational therapy is the only spending category where additional spending has a statistically significant association with lower readmission rates” for the three health conditions studied: heart failure, pneumonia, and acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Lower hospital readmission rates, the study said, could be attributed to the increased use of occupational therapy practitioners to address the “functional and social needs” of clients.

Being healthy enough to stay out of the hospital and spending fewer days in the hospital translates into big cost savings. The average cost to spend a day in the hospital is $2,338. That’s up 51 percent since the year 2000. OT practitioners address issues ranging from overcoming physical barriers to assessing daily function to helping build support networks.

What Does an Occupational Therapy Assistant Do to Make a Difference?

• Assess Risk Factors to Better Health
  Seeking to resume their life roles, individuals coming back from a severe illness sometimes face depression, sadness, or frustration. An OTA has the knowledge to recognize such problems before they lead to devastating economic, personal, and emotional problems requiring another hospital readmission.
• Create Effective Care Transitions
  Communication breakdowns lead to ineffective care transitions from the hospital to post-acute care or home settings, according to a report from The Joint Commission, a health care certification organization. When multiple specialists are involved, coordination is often poor, and there can be confusion about the next step in recovery. An OTA can serve as a care transition guide during at-home or post-discharge care.
• Evaluate Return to Work Factors
  An OTA’s expertise is valuable in determining readiness for a return to work or regular life activities. Because an OTA gets to know the individual’s condition, limitations, and potential, the OTA can identify risks and provide strategies and adaptations that will lower the risk of injury or relapse.

What Does an Occupational Therapy Assistant Do? Find Out at CUKC

Like the idea of earning a college degree that you can complete in as little as two years? Discover the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Occupational Therapy Assistant degree offered at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC). We’re a nonprofit, private, healthcare-focused university located in Overland Park, Kansas.

The A.A.S. degree is by far the preferred degree of most OTAs working today, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). This two-year applied science degree from CUKC prepares you for a professional health care role as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics sees a 29% growth for the OTA profession from 2018 through 2028. Even more impressive, OTA’s are again a top-25 healthcare support job for 2019, according to the U.S. News and World Report annual survey.

In the OTA program at CUKC, focused, eight-week courses immerse you in your class subjects. Class and lab time is combined with a four-to-five-month fieldwork experience in various workplace settings, from schools to rehab centers, to senior care facilities. (Discover more about becoming an OTA in this informative blog.)

Learning what does an occupational therapy assistant do starts when you request information from CUKC. Download this free CUKC ebook today: Your Complete Guide to an Occupational Therapy Assistant Career.