Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant
Listed compensation
$33-$39/hr
The week · per this posting
Schedule not stated in this posting — no days, weekends, call or nights given.
Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.
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 and ADL/IADL interventions for residents living with dementia in a memory care setting. Collaborate with the OT team and caregivers to adapt environments and routines to support resident independence and dignity.
Requirements
Must be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) with a passion for working with older adults in memory care. Requires the ability to adapt therapy to individual resident needs and effectively manage evening routines.
Key Skills
Occupational Therapist Career Context
In California, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (946 salary observations; 2,060 listings), vs ~$97k nationally (6,767 salary observations; 25,985 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 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).
| Measure | This job | Market |
|---|---|---|
| Listed pay | $69k–$81k | Occupational Therapy median $96k (middle half $79k–$107k)50 comparable listings, Oct 2026 |
| California vs national | $117k median in California | $97k nationally (+21%)946 state / 6,767 national salary observations |
| Cost-of-living adjusted pay | ~$68k in purchasing power | California index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) |
| Occupational Therapy listings in California | 914 active | 9,299 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026 |
| Occupational Therapy pay trend | +1.5% vs prior quarter | —through Sep 2026 |
Top OTA Jobs
3 matches · ranked by payCert Occupational Therapist Assistant, COTA
Harvest Crossing POST Acute · Manteca, California
Cert Occupational Therapist Assistant, COTA
Kalesta Healthcare Group · Manteca, California
Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant
$79k-$96k