Position Summary

The Speech Language Pathologist will deliver speech-language pathology evaluation, treatment, and care planning services for residents in the assisted living facility to improve communication, cognition, and swallowing safety to enhance overall quality of life.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Other duties must be performed as assigned or required.

• Evaluate residents' speech, language, cognitive, voice, and swallowing abilities and develop individualized treatment plans.
• Provide direct therapy services, including dysphagia management, cognitive-linguistic retraining, speech and language therapy, and communication strategies.
• Document evaluations, progress notes, and discharge summaries in compliance with company, state, and federal guidelines.
• Collaborate with physicians, nurses, therapists, dietitians, and other team members to coordinate resident care.
• Educate residents, families, and caregivers on therapy goals, compensatory strategies, communication techniques, and safe swallowing practices.
• Monitor and adjust treatment plans based on resident response and progress toward goals.
• Recommend and train residents in the use of adaptive or augmentative communication devices as needed.
• Ensure services are delivered in compliance with ethical, professional, and regulatory standards.
• Participate in team meetings, in-services, and continuing education to maintain professional competence.
• Assist with group wellness programs or facility marketing events as needed
• Work toward continuous quality improvement.
• Stay current with changing technology, including software and healthcare programs.
• Uphold, support, and promote all company policies and procedures.
• Supervisory Responsibilities: The Speech Language Pathologist may provide direct clinical supervision to Clinical Fellows (CFY) if appropriate certifications are held by the supervising SLP. Provides daily clinical oversight to speech language pathology students as assigned. Does not supervise departments or have formal administrative reports.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

To perform this job successfully, the individual in this position must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the minimum knowledge, skills and ability required.

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage and to draw and interpret bar graphs
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to use/navigate the Internet and email, computers, word processing, graphics and multimedia, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Ability to create presentations and spreadsheets.
• Utilization and proficiency in industry specific software.

Intellectual Demands: The intellectual demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Frequent: Problem solving.
• Constant: Written and verbal communication, organization, interpersonal skills, concentration, creativity, working with interruptions, clinical judgement, patient education, documentation.
• Occasional: Calculating.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Constant: Standing, walking, sitting, talking, hearing/listening, using hands, reaching.
• Occasional: Climbing/balancing, stooping/kneeling/crouching/crawling, tasting/smelling, traveling, lifting/transferring patients, pushing/pulling equipment.
• Frequent: Adjusting/positioning residents.
• Lifting: Up to 10 pounds (constant), up to 25 pounds (occasional), up to 50/100 pounds (occasional), more than 100 pounds (occasional)
• Vision - Close vision (clear vision at 20 inches or less), Distance vision (clear vision at 20 feet or more), Color vision (ability to identify and distinguish colors), Peripheral vision (ability to observe an area that can be seen up and down or to the left and right, while eyes are fixed on a given point), Depth perception (three-dimensional vision, ability to judge distances and spatial relationships), and Ability to adjust focus (ability to adjust the eye to bring an object into sharp focus). Vision requirements listed are primarily applied to use of computers, documentation, therapy materials, resident safety, swallowing/communication tasks, and color-coded items for diets and therapy tools.

Education & Experience

• Master's degree (M. A.) or equivalent; or four to ten years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. (Required)
• Active state license to practice as a Speech-Language Pathologist (Required)
• Current CPR certification (Required)
• Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) from ASHA (Preferred; CFY candidates may be accepted under supervision)
• ASHA membership (Preferred)
• Doctoral degree (Ph. D.) or equivalent; or more than 10 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. (Preferred)