OverviewOversees, 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.• 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.QualificationsLicenses and Certifications:Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) - Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center preferredLicense and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in the State of New York requiredEducation: Associate's Degree in Nursing requiredBachelor's Degree in Nursing preferredWork Experience:Minimum of two years of clinical nursing experience in Acute Care (Med Surg, ICU), Clinical Crisis Management, Hospice or Palliative Care requiredClinical expertise and critical thinking skills requiredEffective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills requiredDemonstrated expertise in clinical care management requiredKnowledge of personal computer operations including MS Office applications requiredExperience in health care management preferredCompensation$93,400.00 - $116,800.00 AnnualAbout UsVNS Health is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit home and community-based health care organizations. Innovating in health care for more than 130 years, our commitment to health and well-being is what drives uswe help people live, age and heal where they feel most comfortable, in their own homes, connected to their family and community. On any given day, more than 10,000 VNS Health team members deliver compassionate care, unparalleled expertise and 24/7 solutions and resources to the more than 43,000 “neighbors” who look to us for care. Powered and informed by data analytics that are unmatched in the home and community-health industry, VNS Health offers a full range of health care services, solutions and health plans designed to simplify the health care experience and meet the diverse and complex needs of the communities and people we serve in New York and beyond.