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Elara Caring
East Lansing, Michigan

Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)

Occupational Therapy AssistantFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

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Posted 46m ago · Verified live

Job Description

At Elara Caring, we have a unique opportunity to play a huge role in the growth of an entire home care industry. Here, each employee has the chance to make a real difference by carrying out our mission every day. Join our elite team of healthcare professionals, providing the Right Care, at the Right Time, in the Right Place.

Job Description

Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant Home Health (COTA)

At Elara Caring, we care where you are and believe the best place for your care is where you live. We know there’s no place like home, and that’s why our teams continue to provide high-quality care to more than 60,000 patients each day in their preferred home setting.

Wherever our patients call home and wherever they are on their health journey, we care. Each team member has a part to play in this mission. This means you have countless ways to make a difference as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant.

Being a part of something this great, starts by carrying out our mission every day through your true calling: developing an amazing team of compassionate and dedicated healthcare providers.

  • Please Note: This role requires an active MI COTA license
  • Primary Coverage Includes Eaton County, Grand Ledge, Charlotte and surrounding areas

To continue to be an industry pioneer in delivering unparalleled care, we need a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant with commitment and compassion. Are you one of them? If so, apply today!

Why Join the Elara Caring Mission?

  • Work in a collaborative environment.
  • Be rewarded with a unique opportunity to make a difference

Competitive Compensation Package

  • Tuition reimbursement for full-time staff and continuing education opportunities for all employees at no cost
  • Opportunities for advancement
  • Comprehensive insurance plans for medical, dental, and vision benefits
  • 401(K) with employer match
  • Paid time off, paid holidays, family, and pet bereavement

Pet Insurance

  • As a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant, you’ll contribute to our success in the following ways:
  • Promotes Elara Caring’s philosophy, mission statement and administrative policies to ensure quality of care.

Assists in implementing the rehabilitation needs by following a plan of care in accordance with the Occupational Therapists findings.

Makes routine visits and re-evaluates the patient’s therapy needs during each visit. Communicates significant findings, problems, changes in condition or environment to the appropriate supervisor, Occupational Therapist, the physician, and other team members involved with patient care.

Verifies the Plan of Care prior to each visit and provides care according to physician’s orders, assessment data, established standards and guidelines.

Counsels and instructs the patient and/or caregiver in meeting therapy and related needs, and in the therapy home exercise program providing requests for modification and clarification.

Promotes compliance with all fiscal intermediary and/or other third-party payers, through education, coaching, and other assistance.

  • Identifies and reports potential payment/coverage problems to the appropriate Supervisor.
  • Maintains current knowledge of, and ensures compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations along with current Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party reimbursement regulations and changes.
  • Assures the continuity of quality patient care is delivered.

Maintains communication with clinical staff providing updates and changes in schedules, patient data or needs, physician orders, or special instructions.

Assures clinical notes are entered timely and indicates continuing communication and coordination of services with physician, other staff, and disciplines.

  • Implements all available actions to prevent avoidable hospitalizations and ER visits.
  • Physically demanding, high stress environment
  • Full range of body motion including handling, lifting and transfer of patients
  • Potentially work irregular hours including call hours if applicable

What Is Required?

  • Graduate of a certified occupational therapy curriculum established by the Occupational Therapy Association
  • Current, unrestricted COTA certification in the state of work
  • Minimum one (1) year of experience as a COTA in a clinical care setting
  • Able and willing to travel within branch/office coverage area.
  • Must have a dependable vehicle, valid driver’s license, and current auto insurance in accordance with state laws.
  • Must be able and willing to travel 50%
  • Ability to frequently lift, push, pull, and support up to 50 pounds, including positioning or transferring patients and moving equipmen
  • You will report to the Branch Director, Clinical Manager, Clinical Supervisor or designee.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and comply with state and federal affirmative action requirements.

Individuals are recruited, hired, assigned and promoted without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request via email at recruiting@elara.com.

Pay & Benefit Information: Compensation for this role will be determined based on a variety of factors, including qualifications, skills, competencies, and relevant experience. Elara offers a broad range of benefits. Learn more at careers.elara.com

EVerify: Elara Caring participates in E-Verify after a job offer is accepted and Form I-9 completed.

Key Responsibilities

The Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant will implement rehabilitation plans of care and conduct routine home visits to evaluate patient needs. They are responsible for communicating patient condition changes to the clinical team and ensuring accurate, timely clinical documentation.

Requirements

Candidates must be graduates of a certified occupational therapy curriculum and hold an active, unrestricted COTA license in Michigan. A minimum of one year of clinical experience and a valid driver's license with a dependable vehicle are required.

Key Skills

Patient assessmentCare planningTime managementPatient educationMedical record keepingInterdisciplinary collaboration

Occupational Therapist Career Context

In Michigan, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$90k (106 salary observations; 776 listings), vs ~$97k nationally (6,856 salary observations; 26,330 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for Michigan is 96.2 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 61.8% of Michigan clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Occupational Therapy market look like in Michigan?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Michigan vs national$90k median in Michigan$97k nationally (−7%)106 state / 6,856 national salary observations
Cost of livingMichigan index 96.2US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Occupational Therapy listings in Michigan308 active9,358 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedMichigan Occupational Therapist listings: 18% state a sign-on bonus (median $10k) · 7% offer loan repayment336 active listings, Oct 2026
Occupational Therapy pay trend+1.5% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top OTA Jobs

1 matches · ranked by pay
#1

Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)

PACS · San Jose, California

$45-$50/hr

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Occupational Therapy Assistant listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,043 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Elara Caring logo

About Elara Caring

Hospitals and Health Care
Dallas, Texas
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Tuition reimbursement for full-time staff
Continuing education opportunities at no cost
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) with employer match
Paid time off
Paid holidays
Family and pet bereavement
Pet insurance

Living in East Lansing

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$296k
Typical market rent
$1,847/mo
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
95.0
State income tax
Up to 4.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.