Centralized Triage Registered Nurse (RN)

Affinity Hospice•Birmingham, AL

1d•Remote

About The Position

The Centralized Triage Registered Nurse provides compassionate, comprehensive telephone-based nursing care to hospice patients and their families, with a focus on comfort, symptom management, and emotional support. Working remotely, the Centralized Triage Registered Nurse serves as the primary point of contact during after hours, weekend, and holiday coverage across Affinity Hospice service areas in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Virginia. The Centralized Triage Registered Nurse responds to patient and caregiver needs by phone, assesses patient conditions, provides clinical guidance, resolves nonclinical requests, completes workflow, and dispatches the hospice field team when an in-person visit is needed. The Centralized Triage Registered Nurse works closely with the interdisciplinary hospice team to ensure seamless continuity of care while following each patient’s plan of care.

Requirements

Associate’s degree in nursing, Bachelors preferred.
Minimum of two (2) years of hospice or palliative care experience preferred.
Experience in telephone triage, critical care, or emergency care is also preferred.
Current RN licensure with an active multistate (compact) license. This role supports patients in five Nurse Licensure Compact states (GA, AL, AR, SC, VA), so a multistate license is required, or the willingness to obtain one.
Current CPR certification.
Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation for potential home visits.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact for hospice patients and families during registered coverage hours (after hours, weekends, and holidays).
Triage incoming calls, assess patient needs, and provide appropriate clinical guidance and interventions by phone.
Resolve non-clinical requests such as durable medical equipment, pharmacy, scheduling, and general questions, or route them to the appropriate party.
Collaborate with the hospice team, including physicians, social workers, chaplains, and nurses, to ensure effective symptom management and continuity of care.
Make clinical decisions based on patient status and plans of care, ensuring compliance with hospice standards and best practices.
Provide symptom management instructions to patients and caregivers, addressing pain, breathing difficulty, nausea, anxiety, and other concerns.
Offer emotional support and guidance to families and caregivers, helping them understand and cope with changes in the patient’s condition.
Educate patients and families on end-of-life care, including medication administration and comfort measures.
Respond to emergencies by guiding caregivers through symptom control techniques and dispatching hospice field nurses for in-person visits when necessary.
Coordinate after-hours visits by hospice field nurses or other team members to ensure patient comfort and safety.
Ensure timely ordering and availability of medications and medical supplies as needed.
Accurately document all triage interactions and nursing assessments in the electronic medical record (EMR) in a timely manner.
Completes workflow.
Provide detailed reports to the registered nurse team, hospice physicians, and case managers regarding patient conditions and care provided.
Update plans of care as needed to reflect changes in patient status and ensure seamless communication across the interdisciplinary team.