Director of Rehabilitation, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility
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This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
You need a rehabilitation director who can connect daily therapy operations with IRF documentation and payment rules.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
At an inpatient rehabilitation facility, this leader reviews how therapy, nursing, physicians, and case management record progress. They set staffing expectations, examine missed-treatment patterns, audit charts, and address issues before data submissions or payer review expose gaps. This is not a staff therapist promotion based on clinical skill alone.
The director must read a record from admission through discharge, question incomplete support for medical necessity, and direct managers when schedules or documentation do not support the care plan. An active, unrestricted physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy license may support the candidate's ability to supervise licensed staff and review professional evaluations directly, subject to state law and facility policy.
Ask candidates to explain decisions, not just report familiarity with IRF terms. A useful answer describes what they review after a patient misses therapy, who they contact, what documentation they expect, and when they escalate a pattern.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Confirm whether an active, unrestricted PT, OT, or SLP license is required under state law and facility policy. Ask how the candidate has used that license when reviewing an evaluation, supervising licensed clinicians, or challenging documentation that did not support the stated therapy plan.
- Explore their working knowledge of the sixty-percent rule. Ask how they review the patient mix, who receives findings, and what action they take when trends suggest the facility may fall outside the applicable threshold.
- Test Section GG and IRF-PAI knowledge with a chart example. Ask which functional data fields they inspect, how they spot inconsistent scoring, and how they distinguish a data problem from a training problem.
- Discuss the three-hour intensive therapy standard. If a patient cannot complete scheduled therapy, ask what the candidate expects staff to document, how they review exceptions, and how they prevent repeated scheduling conflicts.
- Ask about interdisciplinary rounds. The director should describe how they bring physician, nursing, therapy, and case-management updates into one plan, then assign follow-up when discharge barriers remain unresolved.
- Review productivity management without accepting a generic target-driven answer. Ask how they compare caseloads, evaluation demand, cancellations, and documentation time before changing assignments or addressing performance.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We speak with licensed rehabilitation leaders from inpatient rehabilitation facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, hospital rehabilitation departments, and health-system therapy operations. Some move when a larger employer narrows their authority over staffing, budget discussions, or chart-review practices. Others want a role focused on IRF operations rather than several service lines.
We also reach directors, managers, and senior therapists who have led multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams. A step-up can appeal to a manager who already audits records and runs rounds but lacks final accountability for department performance. We test whether that experience is substantial enough for a director seat.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is promoting a strong treating clinician who cannot explain how they audit records, act on findings, and hold managers accountable for corrections. Another is treating Section GG, IRF-PAI, and the sixty-percent rule as billing-office topics instead of asking who owns daily review and follow-up.
Hiring for a forceful interview style without testing how the candidate handles therapist resistance, missed therapy, and conflicting round updates.
How would we run the search for this opening?
We ask you which issues need attention first, such as late notes, inconsistent functional scores, missed therapy, staffing strain, or discharge delays. We ask candidates to walk through realistic IRF decisions, including a missed treatment session or conflicting Section GG information.
Set the operating brief
That brief shapes outreach and interviews.
Screen the technical record
We screen license status, work history, leadership scope, and reasons for a move.
Present and select
We present candidates whose examples match your stated needs. You complete interviews, reference checks, credentialing, and clinical assessment before deciding whether to hire.
The role and the setting
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Must the director hold a therapy license?
This role may call for an active, unrestricted license in physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy, depending on state law and facility policy. We verify the credential in screening, while you complete your own credentialing review. Their judgment affects therapist workload, patient participation records, Section GG data, IRF-PAI reporting, and the facility’s readiness for review.
How can I tell whether a candidate really knows IRF compliance work?
Ask for a step-by-step review of a chart with a missed treatment or inconsistent functional score. Strong candidates name the record, the people involved, the follow-up, and the decision point.
Should I choose an IRF veteran over a leader from a broader hospital role?
Direct IRF experience can shorten the learning curve around IRF-PAI, Section GG, and intensive therapy scheduling. A broader leader may still fit if they can show direct ownership of comparable audits, staffing decisions, and interdisciplinary follow-up.
How do you assess a counteroffer when a candidate seeks more authority over IRF operations?
We revisit why the person considered a move and compare the actual authority, reporting relationship, and work scope. A counteroffer may address pay without changing the leadership limits that prompted the discussion.
What does your permanent placement arrangement cost?
No upfront fee. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
If you need a director who can explain the decisions behind IRF data, therapy scheduling, and chart review, Healthcare Headhunters can begin the search with your operating priorities.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.