Patient Care Manager/Registered Nurse

Voyager HospiceCare is an organization with a unique vision to broaden the knowledge and acceptance of hospice services among all groups — physicians, continuing care facilities, hospitals, and individuals and families/loved ones facing life-limiting illness. We are focused on continually advancing and improving the level of quality with which hospice services are administered.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Patient Care Manager is the leader for the Patient Care Team. The Patient Care Manager is responsible to supervise, evaluate and coordinate the various component members of the Hospice interdisciplinary team; serve as patient advocate and coordinator for other social service and health care providers in the community who are involved in the care of the team’s patients; and assume responsibility for the maintenance of patient records from intake to discharge or transfer to bereavement.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Screen, interview and hire all patient care staff.  
• Overall responsibility for orienting all new members of the Patient Care Team to ensure that everyone has an adequate understanding of hospice principles and of his/her own job responsibilities.
• Supervise all members of the Patient Care Team including staff, volunteers, and contract personnel to ensure that all members are rendering the highest quality care possible professionally, caringly, efficiently and in a clinically appropriate manner.
• Provide leadership to Patient Care Team for regular interdisciplinary team meetings; facilitation of problem solving sessions; and the delivery of team support. Facilitate team meetings for the Patient Care Team.
• Evaluate the job performance of each member of the Patient Care Team on a written basis at least annually. Conduct appropriate supervisory visits which allow for clinical observation of performance of members of the Patient Care Team.
• Take responsibility for the maintenance of acceptable productivity for each member of the Patient Care Team and for patient care assignments.
• Review information on all prospective patient admissions, consult appropriate team members for input and authorize all appropriate admissions to that Patient Care Team.
• Coordinate all direct patient care services for the team including staff, volunteers and contracted services to ensure that all services are rendered as integrated components of the interdisciplinary team’s plan of care and in compliance with all company policies.
• Maintain open lines of communication between all members of the Patient Care Team, between the Patient Care Team and each patient’s Primary Physician, and between the Patient Care Team and other community agencies involved in the care of the patients on that team.
• Take responsibility for the initiation and maintenance, review and revision of an ongoing, individualized Plan of Care that covers all aspects of the care being rendered for each patient on that Patient Care Team.
• Monitor and maintain records for all patients on the Patient Care Team so that they are accurate, complete and current and so that they reflect all aspects of the care being delivered to meet the patient/family needs. Monitor the maintenance of medical records to assure compliance with licensing regulations, certification standards, legal and ethical standards.
• Ensure coordination of hospice services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all patients on the Patient Care Team. Is responsible to see that on-call staff has adequate reports.
• Participate in in-services, educational seminars, and workshops as requested.
• Assures that the professional standards of community nursing practice are maintained by all nurses providing care.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Current and valid R.N. license to practice in the state where the Hospice is located.
• Two years successful supervisory experience or equivalent in a health care organization.
• Reliable transportation with required insurance coverage.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of primary medical and nursing care, with at least a working knowledge of oncology nursing and palliative care.
• Basic understanding of the interpersonal dynamics, operative within the working relationships of an interdisciplinary health care team, and knowledge of the process of dying and bereavement.