Provides diagnostic and treatment interventions (depending first on the needs of the department and next on the speech pathologist's area of specialization) to improve the patient's speech/language, oral/facial musculature and structure, cognitive skills, voice, fluency, breathing and/or swallowing abilities to maximum potential. The Speech Pathologist will provide this treatment per physician's order and coordinate therapeutic activities with the patient, caregiver and other health care disciplines. The speech pathologist will work as part of the interdisciplinary team and follow the Kaiser and the department guidelines.
Essential Functions:
- Evaluates patients communication/articulation, physical, cognitive, breathing, swallowing status, functional abilities and age specific needs of patients to determine the current level of functioning, self-care, self-responsibility, independence and quality of life.
- Develops and implements a treatment plan which involves the patient, family, and social support system, identifies interventions to reach achievable goals, coordinates and collaborates on treatment options, advocates enhancing patient's social support systems.
- Facilitates appropriate environmental modifications.
- Provides treatments based on established departmental guidelines and protocols.
- Provides skills in managing both inpatients and outpatients as demonstrated on the competency check list.
- This therapy involves providing treatment which takes into account the risks and benefits of that treatment regime relevant to the patient's medical condition, rehabilitation potential and prognosis.
- Provides timely and complete documentation following department guidelines.
- Follows HIPPA, Medicare, Medicaide, JCAHO as well as state, organizational and department rules.
- Coordinates therapy activities with other health care disciplines.
- This includes coordinating services through consultation with the school systems and community agencies to ensure follow-up and continuing care as needed.
- Participates in quality and performance improvement activities within the department including but not limited to measurement and continuous improvement of clinical competency, regulatory compliance, outcome achievement, resource management, work team performance and customer satisfaction.
- Performs other duties as required.
- This job description is not all encompassing.
Qualifications:
Basic Qualifications:
- Experience as a speech pathologist seeing both inpatient and outpatient caseload preferred.
- Experience with treating dysphagic patients preferred.
- Experience with treating adults and pediatric patients preferred.
- Master's degree in speech pathology.
- Completion of a master's degree in speech pathology and completion of speech pathology patient training through master's speech pathology program.
- Speech pathology license in Oregon or Washington within eighteen (18) months of hire. If not licensed at time of hire must apply for a Provisional license in Oregon as a clinical fellow working at Kaiser within ninety (90) days of hire.
- Certification of clinical competency or ability to complete clinical fellowship year at Kaiser Permanente.
- NPI.
- Valid Drivers License upon hire.
- Current Basic Life Support CPR card within sixty (60) days of hire.
- Demonstrates customer-focused service skills.
- Ability to both evaluate and treat patients with dysphagia is preferred.
- Ability to scope patients during a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing is preferred.
- Ability to evaluate both children and adults with specific skills in administering language, cognitive and articulation assessments preferred.
- Ability to treat both children and adults with specific skills in treating patients with language, cognitive and communication deficits is preferred.
- Ability to provide evaluation and treatment for patients with the following disorders is preferred: dysphagia, voice disorder, communication/articulation problems, and cognitive deficits.
- Able to work autonomously and manage their case load preferred.
- Excellent time management, problem solving and customer service skills preferred.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills preferred.
- Operational knowledge or ability to learn computerized clinical documentation and office application systems preferred.
Salary Range: $40.37 - $53.62
External hires must pass a background check/drug screen.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.