Hospice Clinical Team Manager (RN Required)

About the role

The Team Manager leads the Patient Care Team and is responsible for supervising, evaluating, and coordinating interdisciplinary team members; ensuring continuity of care from admission to discharge or bereavement; serving as patient advocate; and maintaining patient records from intake through discharge or transfer to bereavement.

Responsibilities

• Direct all patient care services for the team, including volunteer and bereavement, ensuring services are integrated into the interdisciplinary plan of care.
• Review pending and new patient admissions, as well as “alive” discharges, to confirm eligibility and appropriateness criteria are met.
• Collaborate with the team physician and attending physician regarding palliative care measures for pain and symptom management.
• Ensure complete and accurate data and documentation are available for recertification decisions on a timely basis.
• Review imminent “alive” discharges to ensure effective discharge planning.
• Monitor the type and level of team services provided (staffing, medications, HME, supplies, level of care changes, etc.) to ensure appropriateness and responsiveness to patient/family needs.
• Manage the team schedule and ensure 24/7 coordination of services for all patients on the team.
• Facilitate team meetings to ensure interdisciplinary input into care plan updates and revisions based on changing patient and family needs.
• Participate in on-call rotation.
• Interview, select, train, supervise, evaluate, and dismiss team staff in conjunction with the Patient Care Administrator.
• Ensure staff competence and performance through field visits, documentation reviews, and team-based in-services on VITAS values, hospice principles, and team growth needs.
• Act as a resource and mentor for staff on clinical issues, documentation, inter- and intra-team problem-solving, and customer service behavior.
• Oversee staff and volunteer schedules, scheduling, and territory assignments to distribute workload equitably and meet productivity expectations.
• Review and approve payroll, ensuring accurate documentation of time, mileage, and additional expenses.
• Monitor clinical records and team activities to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with VITAS policy and regulatory standards.
• Develop and implement performance improvement activities in response to service issues and challenges.
• Ensure completion of proactive and other patient/family satisfaction surveys and implement quality improvement measures.
• Assist with surveys and requests from regulatory bodies and intermediaries as directed by the local program.
• Perform substantive chart reviews to ensure evidence of quality care delivery.
• Participate in Outcomes Management and annual program review.
• Perform utilization review of continuous care and inpatient levels of care for all patients on the team.
• Address patient/family, physician, or MCO grievances and service failures promptly and satisfactorily, coordinating with team members, vendors, and other VITAS departments.
• Analyze customer service issues on the team to identify causes and work with team members to improve performance.
• Personally engage with patients/families and attending physicians when revocation is considered to seek satisfactory solutions and avoid unnecessary revocations.
• Regularly visit LTC and Contract Bed facilities to ensure care plan integration, customer satisfaction, and discuss appropriateness criteria.
• Participate in providing inservices to customers and community organizations.
• Verify and approve admitting IPOC diagnosis, treatments, staffing, and supplies.
• Monitor resource utilization to ensure cost-effective delivery of services.
• Control and account for productivity, labor, and patient care costs relative to the budget.
• Approve all bills and invoices related to patient care services.
• Attend inservices, educational seminars, and workshops to develop and achieve professional growth goals.
• Participate as a mentor for newly hired Team Managers.

Requirements

• Reliable transportation with appropriate driver’s license and insurance coverage for driver and passengers.
• Private telephone in home.
• Knowledge of primary medical and nursing care principles, with at least a working knowledge of oncologic nursing and palliative care.
• Understanding of interpersonal dynamics within interdisciplinary healthcare teams and knowledge of the dying and bereavement process.
• Working knowledge of VITAS information system (Vx) and ability to utilize management reports.
• Two years of successful supervisory experience or equivalent in a healthcare organization.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Current and valid RN license to practice in the state where the VITAS program is located.