Oversees, supervises, coordinates, facilitates, and supports the Hospice After Hours care delivery activities, including field staff supervision. Manages continuity of care to all Hospice patients and their families after normal operating hours. Responds to incoming calls from patients/families/caregivers, assesses and priorities patient needs based on policies and procedures and staff capacity, ensuring all emergent and urgent request are met timely. Addresses needs within context of patient's Interdisciplinary Plan of Care and Hospice Care mission, objectives, policies, and procedures. Documents and reports to team patient's needs, significant events, plan of care and other issues. Evaluates effectiveness of clinical directions. Works under general supervision.
*Though this is a remote role, candidates are required to be local to the Tri-State, in case they are needed to participate in quarterly onsite meetings.
Responsibilities:• Collaborates with all Interdisciplinary team members, and outside vendors determining the most appropriate treatment method, including changes in level of care, based on patient/caregiver needs, best practice, and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensures workload assigned is appropriate to staff’s ability and capacity in order to provide quality and comprehensive services; provides clinical oversight of nurses through coordination and coordination, and feedback from staff and patients/caregivers.
• Maintains current knowledge of clinical standard practices and the use of VNS Health technology, to ensure care delivered is of the high quality, while maintain cost efficiency.
• Assesses the physical, emotional, and medical needs of hospice patients and their caregivers through after-hours telephone consult. Provides support and direction to families in accordance with the patient’s Interdisciplinary Plan of Care and Hospice Care mission, objectives, policies, and procedures.
• Takes referral information and triages for immediate response, dispatches the on-call nurse to do the evaluation/ admission. Contacts Physician for verification of prognosis and appropriateness for Hospice/Palliative care. Contacts and interface with team members, primary physician, team physician, administrator, and other staff to ensure patient’s and family’s needs are met.
• Works directly with outside vendors and care delivery partners, to ensure when patients are transferred to General Inpatient Facilities, Emergency Departments, and Paramedicine Activation, that documents and patient information to ensure continuity of care and most effective care based on patient/caregiver goals and clinical needs.
• Provides clinical directions to patients/caregivers in accordance with Hospice guidelines. Obtains and receives verbal orders from team/physician and documents care using standard form. Evaluates and documents effectiveness of directions through telephone follow-up with patients/caregivers. Provides team/physician with documentation and implements any changes, as directed.
• Obtains and reviews daily report from each team on significant patient care situations that may require contact/follow-up during course of shift. Documents all calls received using high degree of accuracy and detail to ensure team/physician is provided with all relevant and necessary information. Completes case conference form on all calls received and faxes to respective team. Supervises on-call Nurses: Monitors/evaluates performance, provides guidance, recommends hiring and termination, as needed. Determines/Deploys on-call Nurse for home visits, provides necessary information and follows-up regarding status of visit and to obtain necessary report.
• Provides verbal report on significant events, plan of care changes and other patient/caregiver issues requiring further action and/or follow-up to each respective team.
• Participates in Interdisciplinary Hospice Team meetings, management meets and serves on relevant committees for the purposes of information exchange, team collaboration, development of procedures and documentation tools, development of quality and training.
• Understands/implements/complies with Hospice Care Mission, objectives, policies, and procedures to ensure Hospice Care/patient/caregiver needs are met.
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:Licenses and Certifications:
Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) preferred
License and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in the State of New York required
Education:
Associate's Degree in Nursing required Bachelor's Degree in Nursing preferred
Work Experience:
Minimum of two years of clinical nursing experience in Acute Care (Med Surg, ICU), Clinical Crisis Management, Hospice or Palliative Care required
Clinical expertise and critical thinking skills required
Effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills required
Demonstrated expertise in clinical care management required
Knowledge of personal computer operations including MS Office applications required
Experience in health care management preferred