Erica Yvonne Sparks

An individual who is enrolled in an organized health care education/training program leading to a degree, certification, registration, and/or licensure to provide health care.

Individuals experienced or trained in working with developmentally disabled individuals who need assistance in acquiring and maintaining life skills that enable them to cope more effectively with the demands of independent living.

A religious nonmedical practitioner offers spiritually-based care. Services may be rendered in an office, home, or care facility or by phone, email, or written correspondence.

A person who contracts to supply certain materials or do certain work for a stipulated sum; esp., one whose business is contracting work in any of the building trades. For purposes of the taxonomy, a person who contracts to complete home repairs or modifications to accommodate a health condition (e.g. wheelchair ramp, kitchen counter lowering).

An occupational therapy assistant is a person who has graduated from an occupational therapy assistant program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) or predecessor organizations, has successfully completed a period of supervised fieldwork experience required by the accredited occupational therapy assistant program, has passed a nationally recognized entry-level examination for occupational therapy assistants, and fulfills state requirements for licensure, certification, or registration. An occupational therapy assistant provides interventions under the supervision of an occupational therapist which emphasize the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (i.e., occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of facilitating participation in roles and situations and in home, school, workplace, community and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for the purpose of promoting health and wellness and are provided to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapy assistants address the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of occupational performance in a variety of contexts to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life.

Reflexologists perform a non-invasive complementary modality involving thumb and finger techniques to apply alternating pressure to the reflexes within the reflex maps of the body located on the feet, hands, and outer ears. Reflexologists apply pressure to specific areas (feet, hands, and ears) to promote a response from an area far removed from the tissue stimulated via the nervous system and acupuncture meridians. Reflexologists are recommended to complete a minimum of 200 hours of education, typically including anatomy & physiology, Reflexology theory, body systems, zones, meridians & relaxation response, ethics, business standards, and supervised practicum.

(1)Physical therapist assistants are skilled health care providers who are graduates of a physical therapist assistant associate degree program accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education or Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, who assists the physical therapist in providing physical therapy. The supervising physical therapist is directly responsible for the actions of the physical therapist assistant. The PTA performs physical therapy procedures and related tasks that have been selected and delegated by the supervising physical therapist. Duties of the PTA include assisting the physical therapist in implementing treatment programs, training patients in exercised and activities of daily living, conducting treatments, and reporting to the physical therapist on the patient's responses. In addition to direct patient care, the PTA may also perform such functions as patient transport, and clinic or equipment preparation and maintenance. Currently more than half of all states require PTAs to be licensed, registered or certified. (2) An individual who works under the supervision of a physical therapist to assist him or her in providing physical therapy services. A physical therapy assistant may, for instance, help patients follow an appropriate exercise program that will increase their strength, endurance, coordination, and range of motion and train patients to perform activities of daily life.

A recreation therapist uses recreational activities for intervention in some physical, social or emotional behavior to bring about a desired change in that behavior and promote the growth and development of the patient.

An individual trained to provide breastfeeding assistance services to both mothers and infants. Lactation Consultants are not required to be nurses and are trained through specific courses of education. The Lactation Consultant may have additional certification through a national or international organization.

A person who provides case management services and assists an individual in gaining access to needed medical, social, educational, and/or other services. The person has the ability to provide an assessment and review of completed plan of care on a periodic basis. This person is also able to take collaborative action to coordinate the services with other providers and monitor the enrollee's progress toward the cost-effective achievement of objectives specified in the plan of care. Credentials may vary from an experience in the fields of psychology, social work, rehabilitation, nursing or a closely related human service field, to a related Assoc of Arts Degree or to nursing credentials. Some states may require certification in case management.

Individuals that are specially trained to assist patients living at home with urgent/emergent situations. These individuals must be able to perform CPR and basic first aid and have sufficient counseling skills to allay fears and assist in working through processes necessary to resolve the crisis. Functions may include transportation to various facilities and businesses, contacting agencies to initiate remediation service or providing reassurance.

A person employed to operate a motor vehicle as a carrier of persons or property.

An individual who assists a podiatrist in tasks, such as exposing and developing x-rays; taking and recording patient histories; assisting in biomechanical evaluations and negative castings; preparing and sterilizing instruments and equipment; providing the patient with postoperative instructions; applying surgical dressings; preparing the patient for treatment, padding, and strapping; and performing routine office procedures.

Source: NUCC, CMS