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Prava Therapy
Chula Vista, California

Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant

Occupational TherapistPart-Time

Listed compensation

$33-$39/hr

Confirm guaranteed pay, incentives and eligibility with the employer.

Employment & setting
Part-Time
Call expectations
Not specified
Weekends
Not specified
Posted 39m ago · Verified live

Job description

Part-Time COTA | Memory Care | Come Practice OT Where Life Happens
Memory Care | Part-Time
The best OT session might not look like a therapy session.
It might look like getting dressed for dinner.
Finding the dining room.
Brushing your teeth.
Participating in an activity.
Navigating a familiar routine.
Helping someone successfully complete something they've done their entire life.
That's where OT belongs.
At Prava, we're looking for a Part-Time Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant who wants to bring meaningful, occupation-based therapy into Memory Care communities.
And we're looking for someone who understands that when you're working with someone living with dementia, the environment, the routine, and the way we approach the person can matter just as much as the intervention itself.
We don't just work bankers' hours.
Because residents don't live bankers' hours.
For this position, we're particularly interested in a COTA who sees the value of evening ADL intervention.
Why?
Because that's when real life happens.
Getting ready for dinner.
Dressing.
Grooming.
Toileting.
Positioning.
Transitioning into the evening.
Preparing for bed.
These aren't just tasks.
They're occupations.
And they can be incredibly meaningful therapy opportunities.
We don't expect the resident to fit the therapy.
We adapt the therapy to the resident.
Someone with dementia may not be able to tell you what is making a task difficult.
That doesn't mean there isn't a reason.
Maybe the environment is overwhelming.
Maybe the routine has changed.
Maybe the instructions are too complicated.
Maybe the task needs to be broken down differently.
Maybe the resident needs a familiar cue.
Maybe we need to change our approach, not ask the resident to try harder.
That's where great OT comes in.
Your role
You'll work alongside our OT team to provide meaningful, occupation-based care to residents living with dementia.
You'll have opportunities to:
Provide ADL and IADL intervention within the plan of care
Incorporate therapy into real evening routines
Support dressing, grooming, toileting, positioning, mobility-related ADLs, and other meaningful occupations within your scope
Use cueing, sequencing, environmental modification, and compensatory strategies to support participation
Identify environmental barriers to successful engagement
Support residents in maintaining familiar routines and meaningful roles
Partner with caregivers and community staff to improve carryover
Help preserve independence and dignity—even when independence looks different than it used to
Build relationships with residents and learn the person behind the diagnosis
We believe dementia care should start with the person.
Not the diagnosis.
Not the behavior.
Not the impairment.
The person.
What did they love to do?
What routines are familiar?
What makes them feel successful?
What helps them feel safe?
What can we change about the environment?
How can we make participation possible?
Those questions matter.
We're looking for a COTA who:
Loves working with older adults living with dementia
Believes occupation is at the center of OT
Understands the importance of routine, environment, and meaningful engagement
Gets excited about real-world ADL training
Is patient, creative, observant, and adaptable
Builds relationships naturally
Believes dignity should never be sacrificed for efficiency
Wants to practice creatively and clinically
Doesn't believe every therapy session needs to happen in a therapy room
If you've ever thought, “This is what OT is supposed to be,” you'll probably like Prava.
Because we don't just want to treat a resident.
We want to help the person continue to live their life—with the abilities they have today, in the environment they call home.
And sometimes the most important therapy of the day happens after 5 p. m.
Come practice OT where life happens.
Come practice Prava.

Key Responsibilities

Provide occupation-based therapy to residents in memory care, focusing on ADLs and IADLs during evening routines. Collaborate with the OT team and caregivers to implement environmental modifications and strategies that support resident independence and dignity.

Requirements

Must be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) with a passion for working with older adults living with dementia. Requires the ability to adapt therapy to individual resident needs and a commitment to providing care in a real-world environment.

Key Skills

Patient CareGeriatric CareClinical DocumentationCaregiver CollaborationTherapeutic CueingMobility SupportDignity-focused Care

Occupational Therapist Career Context

In California, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (530 salary observations; 940 listings), vs ~$97k nationally (4,041 salary observations; 11,909 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-09-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$75k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $68k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Occupational Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is up 3.4% vs. the prior quarter (through Aug 2026).

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Work-life snapshot

3.0/ 10
Listing-based score

A signal to investigate—not a guarantee about the workplace.