Hospice Registered Nurse

Gentiva Hospice • Bellevue, WA

1d

About The Position

The Hospice Registered Nurse (RN) / RN Case Manager provides individualized hospice and palliative nursing care to patients with life-limiting illnesses and supports their families and caregivers. The RN is a primary point of contact throughout the hospice journey, delivering and documenting skilled nursing care in patients’ homes, assisted living settings, or other places they call home. The role includes patient assessments, symptom management, developing and updating care plans, coordinating with an interdisciplinary team, and providing emotional, physical, and spiritual support and education to patients and loved ones.

The RN helps patients and families understand medication administration, hospice philosophy and services, symptom and pain management, and end-of-life processes. The position also supports continuity of care, referrals and transitions between levels of care, timely clinical documentation, regulatory compliance, quality improvement, scheduling initiatives, and on-call patient support as applicable. Work takes place in patients’ homes and/or institutional settings and in an automobile; exposure to infections, communicable diseases, odors, blood, excreta, and hazardous materials is possible.

Requirements

• Registered Nurse education and qualification.
• At least one year of RN experience in acute care hospital, oncology, long-term care, hospice, or home health; school internships and clinical hours may be considered in individual cases.
• Current license to practice nursing in the state of requested employment.
• CPR certification.
• Current automobile insurance and a valid driver’s license.
• Knowledge of terminally ill patients and their families and of hospice care and the special needs of hospice patients and families.
• Knowledge of the roles of disciplines providing hospice services and of community resources.
• Excellent patient assessment skills and knowledge of general nursing practice.
• Good oral and written communication skills, documentation, and program management ability.
• Knowledge of managed care principles and regulatory guidelines, including Medicare, Medicaid, and ACHC.
• Sensitivity to end-of-life issues; tact and ability to support patients and families during crises.
• Flexibility, adaptability, maturity, cooperation, and composure while performing varied tasks.
• Ability to communicate effectively with people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and work collaboratively with coworkers and hospice team members.
• Ability to operate nursing assessment tools, computers, facsimile equipment, copier, and cell phone or beeper.
• Must have and maintain transportation for work.

Nice To Haves

• Hospice or palliative care experience.

Responsibilities

• Perform comprehensive patient assessments and reassessments, including in-person and telephonic RN assessments or screenings.
• Deliver skilled nursing interventions and symptom management aligned with patients’ goals of care.
• Develop and update individualized plans of care, including visit frequency, based on patient needs and identified risks.
• Coordinate care across interdisciplinary teams, including consultation with physicians and nurse practitioners.
• Educate patients, family members, and caregivers about disease processes, self-care, end-of-life care, medications, nutrition, and dietary needs.
• Communicate changes in condition or signs and symptoms of decline to appropriate providers.
• Support continuity of care by recognizing and supporting appropriate home health, palliative, and hospice referrals and transitions in levels of care.
• Document screening and assessment findings, physician orders, progress notes, and care plans in timely clinical records.
• Maintain effective working relationships with the interdisciplinary group and involve the team when warranted by the patient’s care plan.
• Participate in on-call and patient support activities as applicable, providing clinically competent and responsive on-call services.
• Provide emotional, physical, and spiritual support to patients and loved ones, including comfort and bereavement guidance.
• Teach caregivers how to care for patients safely and confidently.
• Follow infection control, regulatory, compliance, and organizational policy standards.
• Support quality improvement and scheduling initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• 401(k) with company match
• Career advancement opportunities
• National and local recognition programs
• Teammate Assistance Fund
• Medical insurance (full-time associates)
• Dental insurance (full-time associates)
• Vision insurance (full-time associates)
• Mileage reimbursement or fleet vehicle program (full-time associates)
• Generous paid time off and seven paid holidays (full-time associates)
• Wellness programs, including telemedicine, diabetes management, and Joint & Spine Concierge Care (full-time associates)
• Education support and tuition assistance (full-time associates)
• Free continuing education units (full-time associates)
• Company-paid life insurance (full-time associates)
• Company-paid long-term disability insurance (full-time associates)
• Voluntary pet, critical illness, accident, and long-term care benefits (full-time associates)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed