Charlotte joined CVHHH as the Clinical Educator in 2024 and hit the ground running. An experienced occupational therapist, Charlotte educates clinicians on the most current home health practices and regulations and offers resources and one-on-one support to help them thrive. This spring, Charlotte earned her Certificate for OASIS Specialist-Clinical (COS-C), which demonstrates her expertise in data accuracy and knowledge of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS), which home health clinicians use to assess patients throughout their episode of care, and, ultimately, determines reimbursement and quality outcomes for care provided to patients. OASIS data also inform reports that home health agencies use to guide quality and performance improvement plans. We asked Charlotte to share insights into her role and her interest in this work.
Q: What drew you to occupational therapy and what do you find rewarding about the work – in general and at CVHHH?
A: What I love about occupational therapy is how holistic it is. Occupational therapists support people to do activities that many of us take for granted, things like dressing and eating, or other meaningful activities such as playing board games, knitting, or gardening. Even the smallest progress could lead to meaningful improvements in daily life, especially within the neurological population (e.g., individuals living with Parkinson’s or a TBI), which was my area of specialization. Occupational therapy care may be requested at the beginning of a person’s home health episode of care, or if their home health nurse, physical therapist, or speech-language pathologist recognizes a need for support with daily activities.
“It’s fun to think creatively about how to support patients and then to see the real-life impact when they reach their goals.“
I also really enjoy the problem-solving side. Every client is different, with unique goals and needs. It’s fun to think creatively about how to support patients and then to see the real-life impact when they reach their goals.
When I was in direct patient care, I focused on educating clients, their families, and caregivers on how to best support the client and ensure safety. My role at CVHHH is a bit different, but, at its core, my work still centers around education. Now, I have the opportunity to educate clinicians —whether it’s through onboarding, sharing updates on Medicare guidelines, or providing education on clinical best practices.
Q: What does your role look like day-to-day?
A: My day-to-day can vary quite a bit. During weeks when we’re onboarding new clinicians, I coordinate with human resources, clinical managers, and preceptors (experienced clinical trainers) to arrange schedules so clinicians can gain experience in the field, and I also provide training on how to navigate our electronic medical record system where we store patient data and records. On other days, I focus on developing educational presentations covering a range of topics — from the OASIS and Medicare guidelines to caring for patients living with a stroke, congestive heart failure, and Parkinson’s disease.
Recently, I’ve also been collaborating with our IT department to implement software that will play a key role in education and streamlining processes to support clinicians to be more efficient with their time when visiting patients and documenting their visits. And, regardless of what’s on my schedule, I’m always available if clinicians stop into my office or reach out with questions.
Q: Why did you choose to pursue OASIS certification?
A: During my onboarding, there was a strong emphasis on learning OASIS — understanding the specific questions it includes, the Medicare guidance for accurately completing it, and how the quality data can be utilized to guide educational opportunities and performance improvement plans for clinicians. With support from my supervisor and coworkers, I’ve taken on more responsibility in educating clinicians on OASIS as well as reviewing charts of clinicians as part of their onboarding process. Going for the OASIS certification allowed me to get more knowledge on OASIS, and it allowed me to gain confidence in what I have learned over the last five months and in my ability to educate and offer resources to clinicians on OASIS data.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I love spending time outside with my dog, hanging out with my family and friends, and reading. I’m also a huge sports fan, so I watch a lot of games. I’m on a sports podcast with a couple of my friends, which is a lot of fun.