ATU-Ozark adds therapy assistant program
by February 4, 2011 2:30 pm 128 views
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating (ADHECB) has granted approval to Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus to offer a certified occupational therapy assistant program.
According to an ATU-Ozark statement, an occupational therapy assistant (OTA) works under the supervision of an occupational therapist to help provide rehabilitative services to individuals with mental, physical, emotional, or developmental disabilities.
The development of the program at ATU-Ozark was initiated in response to requests made by regional occupational therapy providers in the Ozark Campus service area. An examination into the need for an OTA program was then launched, as well as an assessment of whether the program met the mission of the Ozark Campus.
The data collected indicated that, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment as an OTA is projected to increase much faster than the average occupation, and the long term employment projections for OTA reflect a 39% increase from 2006 – 2016. Also, according to data collected from local and regional health care providers in the Ozark Campus service area, OTA’s were not available to fill the job market needs.
The university also conducted a survey of community interest in the OTA degree program in the fall of 2010. The results of the survey indicated that 97.4% of the 258 total responses were in favor of the development of an OTA program at the Ozark Campus. The university has gathered letters of support from various regional occupational therapy providers in support of an OTA program.
Although similar programs do exist in the state of Arkansas, the growth potential for the program indicated a need for a program in the Ozark campus service area.
The two state programs accredited to provide OTA instruction are located in Central Arkansas and Southeastern Arkansas regions. These programs have limited enrollment opportunities and do not support the health care provider needs for COTAs in the western region of Arkansas, noted the ATU-Ozark statement.