Moving Forward
Towards the
Future
Dawn De Vries, DHA, CTRS
President, ATRA
Grand Valley State University – devridaw@gvsu.edu
To retrieve PPT, www.gvsu.edu/tr/faculty
 What
are the current issues and
trends affecting the Recreational
Therapy profession?
 How
do we address these issues to
keep RT moving forward?
Higher Education

Issues
 Vacancies
at universities
 Student engagement
 Education Levels
 Quality of Curricula

Needs
 More
doctoral prepared
CTRSs
 New leaders and
members
 Future Direction

ATRA in Action:
 Student
development,
Peg Connolly
Scholarship program,
student memberships
 CAAHEP/CARTE
Accreditation
Workforce Development

Issues
 Retiring
professionals
 Early awareness of RT vs. discovery
major

Need
 More
field
 HS

practitioners to enter the
students
ATRA in Action
 HOSA
 Partnership
with NCTRC
Competencies

Issue
 Inconsistent

practice
Need
 Clinically
competent
practitioners

ATRA in Action
 ATRA
Standards of Practice
 NCTRC
Specialty Certifications
Research and EBP

Issue
 Lack
of research and EBP within
the field

Need
 Research
studies, systematic
reviews and EBP about RT

ATRA in Action
 Research
Committee
 Evidence Based Practice
Committee
 Partnerships
Understanding of
Recreational Therapy

Issue


Need


Lack of understanding of RT by the general public, administrators,
potential clients/consumers, colleagues
Increased recognition of RT and what RTs do
ATRA in Action

Marketing and Promotion

CARF website

Messaging and Social Media

Media

Collaborations and partnerships
ATRA
Marketing
RT in the Press

“ATRA Mid-Year Conference Brings Together Industry’s Best” in
Government Recreation & Fitness, March 2015

“ATRA Annual Conference” in Government Recreation & Fitness,
November 2015

“Recreational Therapists help patients play to win” by Stephanie
Stephens on 6/15/15 on monster.com


http://www.monster.com/healthcare/a/recreational-therapists-helppatients-play-to-win-0615
“Into Sports, Music and Working with People? This Job is for You”
Cathie Ericson on 1/13/2016 on monster.com

http://www.monster.com/healthcare/a/health-care-job-recreationaltherapy
Regulatory Inclusion

Issues




Lack of recognition of RT by
regulatory bodies, payers,
states
Lack of access to necessary RT
services in all practice settings
Lack of protection of consumers
receiving RT services
Needs

Recognition of RT

Access for all

Licensure in all states

ATRA in Action

Federal Public Policy Team

Access to Inpatient Rehab Act
of 2015 – HR 1906

Joint Task Force for Licensure

Partnerships and collaborations
HR 1906
Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Act of 2015
 It
amends the Social Security Act to include RT
among those modalities that constitute
intensive rehabilitation services.
 Introduced
 Currently,
April 2015.
2 co-sponsors:
 Thompson
(R-PA)
 Butterfield

(D-NC)
Imagine the subsequent extension of this bill across
settings and funding sources.
Partnerships





I Can Do It, You Can Do It
- President’s Council on
Fitness, Sports &
Nutrition (PCFSN)
Go4Life – National
Institute on Aging
Habilitation Benefits
(HAB) Coalition
Coalition to Preserve
Rehabilitation (CPR)
Independence Through
Enhancement of
Medicare and Medicaid
(ITEM) Coalition





International Council on
Active Aging’s Active
Living Week
Consortium for Citizens
with Disabilities
Disability Rehabilitation
Research Coalition
25th Anniversary of the
Americans with
Disabilities Act
The ARC
Current Collaborations
 International
 Joint
RT Month – February
Task Forces on Licensure
 ATRA
& NCTRC
 CTRA
& NCTRC
 International
 Canada
 Australia?
Relationships
Profession Issues

Issues
 RT
or TR?
 Community
vs. Clinical
 Representation

for all practice areas
Needs
 Unity
 Common
definition
 Consistency
 Direction

ATRA in Action…
Unified Under a Common
Approach
RT needs to be operationally defined
by practice not philosophy…
•
NCTRC Job Analysis
•
Standards of Practice
•
Competency Guidelines
ATRA Endorsements
(Definitions RT/TR)
Therapeutic Recreation is the field.
 Recreational Therapy is the practice.
 Recreational Therapists are the
practitioners.
 The CTRS (Certified Therapeutic
Recreation Specialist) is the qualified
provider.

ATRA’s Guiding Principles
We Believe…
 Recreational Therapy is a process provided in diverse
settings.
 Assessment, Planning, Intervention, Evaluation, and
Documentation (APIED) are the foundation of Recreational
Therapy.
 In Evidence Based Practice, Professional Credentialing,
and Accreditation.
 In building powerful relationships to strengthen
Recreational Therapy.
 In mentoring and developing professionals.
Definition of RT
Recreational Therapy is a systematic
process that utilizes recreation and
other activity-based interventions to
address the assessed needs of
individuals with illnesses and/or
disabling conditions, as a means to
psychological and physical health,
recovery and well-being.
ATRA’s Mission Statement
We
empower
Recreational
Therapists.
ATRA’s Vision Statement
We envision a world
where all people
have access to
Recreational Therapy.
MEMBERS!
Building a community of Recreational Therapists
ATRA’s Structure
MEMBERS
Board of Directors
National Office
Committees/Teams
Partnerships
ATRA’s Structure
Board of Directors

Dawn De Vries (MI) – President

Marilyn Radatz (VA) – President-Elect

Tim Passmore (OK) – Secretary

Brent Wolfe (GA) – Treasurer

Debbie Robinson (NH) – Past President

Vincent Bonadies (NY) - MAL

Martha Judge (IL) - MAL

Betsy Kemeny (PA) - MAL

Jo Ellen Ross (PA) - MAL

Rachel Gorman (OR) – MAL

Thea Kavanaugh (NM) - MAL
Sections
Schools
 Community
 Older Adult
 Children &
Adolescents

 Physical
Rehab
& Medical
 Behavioral
Health
 Management
 Military &
Veterans
Committees

Diversity

Federal Public Policy

Awards

Coverage

Evidence Based
Practice

Standards of Practice

CARF

Research

JC

International

Ethics

WHO/ICF

RT Month

Student Development

Higher Education

Workforce
Development
Call to Action
TAKE ACTION!
Identify Your Elected Representative
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
7.
8.
Go to usps.com to find your 9 digit zip code
Go to house.gov & enter your 9-digit zip code to find
out who your representative is
Go to your representative’s webpage and find the
Contact Me section
Go to atra-online.com and click on “Legislative
Alert”
Find “Take Action Now” and click on HR 1906
Advocacy Template
Copy and paste into your rep’s contact me.
Personalize the email
JOIN!
National 2039/15000 = 13.6%
Pennsylvania 118/668 = 18%
Dollars and Cents of ATRA

So is ATRA worth your
time, energy and
dues?
 $125/year
 $10.42/month
 $2.40/week
 34
cents/day
What can YOU do?

National Engagement

 Committees
 Section
 Board

 Presentations
membership
 Networking
of Directors
 Membership
Local/State
Engagement
 Advocacy
 Licensure
Conferences and
continuing education

Universities/Colleges
 Interns/Volunteers
 Guest
speaking
Save the Date!
Westin Lombard Yorktown
Center
Chicago Area (Lombard IL)
9/10-9/13, 2016
Recreational Therapy:
Sailing to Greatness