Occupational Therapist - Mental Health Navigation, SPRINT - Temporary Full-Time 2024-11376

Classification: Temporary Full-Time (until approx. Aug 2026)

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has an exciting opportunity for an experienced occupational therapist (OT) to work with seniors with mental health needs to navigate the healthcare system in the North Toronto OHT. Sunnybrook has partnered with SPRINT Senior Care to create new integrated models of care and in this pilot, the OT will join social worker navigators to assist seniors who require post-hospital discharge mental health support. The OT will work with clients in the community for up to 90 days post discharge to help fill in the gaps of care for vulnerable, isolated, and marginalized seniors facing mental health challenges. The OT will contribute assessments of occupational performance toward developing customized care plans to ensure connections to community resources and supports are optimal for presenting mental health needs and community living abilities. The goal is to help keep seniors healthy at home and ensure continuity of care. This position will be well-suited for an OT who is adaptive and wants to be part of creating new models of care, implementing and refining this OT role and taking part in evaluating it. 

Summary of Duties
•    Collaborate with clients and family to assess client functioning and optimize occupational performance
•    Provide person-centred assessments and interventions, including navigation of mental health services for continuity of care in the system
•    Actively participate in team activities such as team meetings, clinical rounds, team huddles and quality improvement initiatives
•    Act as an occupational therapy expert resource for staff, students, and other healthcare providers
•    Maintain and upgrade knowledge and skills through continuing education and professional development
•    Ensure services provided are best practice and evidence based
•    Practice in accordance with regulatory body (COTO) standards for practice

Qualifications/Skills
•    Registration with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario required
•    Minimum 3 years’ mental health OT experience required, with preference for an OT who has practiced in community settings 
•    Experience working with clients to engage in daily routines and cope with mental illness symptoms in the community, by performing occupational analysis that bridges the gap between the person’s emotional, behavioural, cognitive, social and physical abilities within the contexts that they live and the activities they want to participate in
•    Ability to efficiently develop care plans that address a client’s occupational performance issues (psychosocial and mental health status, ADLs and IADLS, cognition and perception, functional mobility, home safety) for the purpose of helping to keep seniors at home and to connect them with community supports/resources
•    Experience helping clients to problem solve and employ recovery strategies that facilitate structure and organization for daily functioning  
•    Working knowledge of community-based programs that support people with mental illnesses and/or seniors, including housing supports and service eligibility
•    Experience prescribing mobility equipment/aides to optimize independence, and/or working with vendors, an asset
•    Well-developed communication and interpersonal skills to work in a team environment, and building trust with clients with mental illnesses
•    Strong time-management and organizational skills
•    Computer literacy required
•    Commitment to clinical excellence and use of Best Practices
•    Demonstrated commitment to Person-Centred Care approach and principles
•    Ability to demonstrate reflective practice
•    Valid driver’s license