Mercyhealth Wisconsin and Illinois·Rockford, Illinois
The PTA assists licensed physical therapists in administering treatments to restore function and prevent disability for patients in home settings. Responsibilities include performing therapeutic exercises, fitting supportive devices, and documenting patient progress electronically.
The Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) assists the licensed physical therapist in administering physical therapy treatment in the home setting for patients suffering from injuries, neurological conditions, developmental delays, or muscle, nerve, joint and bone disease, to restore function and prevent disability.
Essential duties and responsibilities
Administers active and passive manual therapeutic exercises, balance and proprioceptive training, therapeutic massage, mobilization of tissue and joints, traction, and heat, light, sound, water, and electrical modality treatments such as ultrasound, electrical stimulation, ultraviolet, infrared, and hot and cold packs.
Instructs, motivates, and assists patients to learn and improve functional activities such as perambulation, transfer, ambulation, and daily living activities.
Observes patients during treatments and compiles and evaluates data on patients' responses to treatments and progress and reports orally or in writing to Physical Therapist.
Fits patients for, adjusts, and trains patients in use and care of orthopedic braces, prostheses, and supportive devices such as crutches, canes, walkers, and wheelchairs.
Confers with members of physical therapy staff and other health team members, individually and in conference, to exchange, discuss, and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, and coordinating treatment programs.
Measures patient's range-of-joint motion, length and girth of body parts, and vital signs to determine effects of specific treatments or to assist Physical Therapist to compile data for patient evaluations.
Completes thorough and timely electronic documentation
May assist with orientation and training of new partners as needed
The Special Physical Demands are considered Essential Job Functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear.
The employee is frequently required to sit, stoop, walk, and stand.
The employee is occasionally required to kneel, crouch, crawl, climb or balance.
The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds, frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus
$25.10 - $42.40
Mercyhealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer [https://careers.mercyhealthsystem.org/jobs]. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.
Mercyhealth offers competitive pay and benefits, including retirement, time off, on-demand pay, access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and more. Click here [https://www.mercyhealthsystem.org/join-our-team/benefits/] for more details.
At Mercyhealth, we don’t simply hire people, we empower employee-partners who are passionate about making lives better. As an integrated health system, we deliver exceptional, coordinated across seven hospitals, 85 primary and specialty clinics, and a team of over 7,500 professionals serving northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Candidates must be graduates of an accredited Physical Therapy Assistant program and licensed to practice in Wisconsin and/or Illinois. A CPR or BLS certification is required within 90 days of hire.
Market context
In Illinois, allied-health employers often look for occupational therapists who can meet licensure and certification requirements while supporting early intervention or similar patient needs. These roles can be competitive because candidates need an ACOTE-accredited bachelor’s degree, a valid occupational therapy license, and NBCOT registration, so reviewing the full posting carefully matters. On this platform, the requirements and benefits are AI-summarized from the original job description, which can save you research time before you apply.
