Team Manager Inpatient

About the Role

Directs all patient care services for the team, including volunteer and bereavement, ensuring services are rendered as integrated components of the interdisciplinary plan of care.

Responsibilities

• Reviews information on all pending patient admissions, new admissions (assessments and history), and “alive” discharges to ensure eligibility and appropriateness criteria are met.
• Collaborates with the team physician and attending physician regarding palliative care measures for pain and symptom management.
• Ensures complete and accurate data and documentation are available for recertification decisions and that those decisions are made on a timely basis.
• Reviews all imminent “alive” discharges to ensure effective discharge planning.
• Monitors the type and level of team services (staffing, medications, HME, supplies, level of care changes to inpatient and continuous care) to ensure they are appropriate and responsive to patient/family needs.
• Manages the team schedule and ensures coordination of services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all patients on the team.
• Facilitates team meetings, ensuring interdisciplinary input into updating and revising the plan of care in response to changing patient and family needs.
• Participates in on-call rotation.

Staff Supervision and Management

• Interviews, selects, trains, supervises, evaluates, and dismisses team staff in conjunction with the Patient Care Administrator.
• Ensures staff competence and performance through field visits, evaluating documentation, and providing team-based in-services on VITAS values, hospice principles, and team growth needs.
• Acts as a resource and mentor for staff on clinical issues, documentation, problem-solving, and customer service behavior.
• Oversees staff and volunteer schedules, territory assignments, and workload distribution to ensure equitable productivity.
• Reviews and approves payroll, ensuring accurate documentation of time, mileage, and expenses.

Quality Improvement and Regulatory Compliance

• Monitors clinical records and team activities to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with VITAS policy and regulatory standards.
• Develops and implements performance improvement activities to address service issues and challenges.
• Ensures the team completes patient/family satisfaction surveys and implements quality improvement measures.
• Assists with regulatory surveys and requests as directed by the local program.
• Performs substantive chart reviews to ensure evidence of quality care delivery.
• Participates in Outcomes Management and the annual program review.
• Performs utilization reviews of continuous care and inpatient levels of care for all patients on the team.

Customer Service, Sales, and Marketing

• Addresses and resolves problems, grievances, or service failures experienced by patients, families, physicians, or MCOs.
• Analyzes customer service issues to identify causes and works with the team to improve performance.
• Personally communicates with patients, families, and attending physicians to seek solutions and avoid unnecessary revocations.
• Regularly visits LTC and contract bed facilities to ensure care plan integration and customer satisfaction.
• Participates in providing in-services to customers alongside team members and program staff.
• Engages in professional, voluntary, or community service organizations.

Cost Containment

• Verifies and approves admitting IPOC diagnosis, treatments, staffing, and supplies.
• Monitors resource utilization for every patient to ensure cost-effective service delivery.
• Controls and is accountable for productivity, labor, and patient care costs relative to the budget.
• Approves all bills and invoices related to patient care services.

Professional Development

• Attends in-services, educational seminars, and workshops.
• Develops and achieves professional growth goals and objectives.
• Participates as a mentor for newly hired Team Managers.

Requirements

• Reliable transportation with appropriate 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.
• Basic understanding of interdisciplinary healthcare team dynamics and the process of dying and bereavement.
• Working knowledge of the VITAS information system (Vx) and ability to utilize management reports.
• Two years of successful supervisory experience or equivalent in a healthcare organization.

Qualifications

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