AOTA member spotlight: Jamar Haggans, MS, OTR/L, PTA

Jamar Haggans, MS, OTR/L, PTA is Regional Rehab Director for Life Care Centers of America. Jamar has experience as both a PTA and an OTR and has extensive experience addressing quality measures for his organization. He recently discussed his experiences with AOTA Director of Quality, Julie Malloy.

Julie: Tell us a little bit about your current role as a Regional Rehab Director.

Jamar: I currently oversee 10 facilities, with about 75 therapists in my role. The big three things I look at in my role are clinical performance, operational performance, and regulatory compliance. This includes looking at our overall performance on quality measures across our facilities.

Julie: How did you become interested in quality?

Jamar: I am extremely passionate about the outcomes for our patients. I wanted to have an impact beyond the clinic that I worked in and saw this as a great opportunity to have a larger influence on my organization and clients.

I enjoy my role, because it is to help people be successful, and that includes getting the best outcomes with their clients, utilizing evidence-based practice, and improving documentation.

Julie: How do you utilize quality measures in your current role?

Jamar: Quality measures are a part of my job every day. Every time I enter a facility, one of the first questions I ask is, how are we doing on our quality measures? I want our staff to understand what we are doing well, and the areas where we need improvement. This information is then used to build our clinical programming.

Julie: How have you been able to get your facilities and staff to embrace quality measures?

Jamar: When discussing quality measures with staff, I focus on why quality measures are important. Quality measures are looked at by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure we are focused on providing quality care to our clients. These measures allow us to show the value that we can add to the clients and the healthcare system.

Julie: What advice would you have for someone interested in learning more about quality measures?

Jamar: I would share that quality measures are something for the entire health care system to address, including occupational therapy practitioners. First, we must understand what is being measured, and how we as occupational therapy practitioners can impact our organization’s quality measures. This may involve the need to advocate for our clients to receive our services.