Hospice Registered Nurse

Gentiva Hospice • DeFuniak Springs, FL

6d

About The Position

The Hospice Registered Nurse (RN)/RN Case Manager delivers personalized hospice and palliative nursing care to patients with life-limiting illnesses in their homes, assisted living facilities, or other institutional settings. The RN serves as a primary point of contact for patients and families, providing skilled nursing care, assessments, symptom management, education, emotional support, and guidance throughout the hospice journey.

The role includes developing and updating individualized plans of care, coordinating services with interdisciplinary team members and providers, monitoring changes in patients’ conditions, and maintaining complete and timely clinical records. The RN also supports continuity of care and transitions between levels of care, participates in on-call and patient-support activities as applicable, and helps ensure services meet clinical, regulatory, and organizational standards.

The position involves working in patients’ homes and/or institutional settings and using an automobile to travel for work. Potential exposures include infections, communicable diseases, odors, blood, excreta, and hazardous materials. This is a safety-sensitive position.

Requirements

• Registered Nurse education.
• 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.
• Must have and maintain transportation for work.
• 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; knowledge of general nursing practice, documentation, and program management.
• Knowledge of managed care principles and regulatory guidelines, including Medicare, Medicaid, and ACHC.
• Good oral and written communication skills, sound clinical judgment, adaptability, critical thinking, and the ability to work effectively with people of varied socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Ability to provide tactful, sensitive support to patients and families facing life-and-death issues and crisis, and to demonstrate flexibility, maturity, cooperation, and composure.
• Ability to operate nursing assessment tools, computers, facsimile equipment, a copier, and a cell phone or beeper.

Nice To Haves

• Hospice or palliative care experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary point of contact for patients and families throughout the hospice journey.
• Perform comprehensive initial and ongoing patient assessments and reassessments, including in-person and telephone RN assessments or screenings.
• Deliver and document skilled nursing interventions and symptom management consistent with each patient’s goals of care and individualized plan of care.
• Develop and update individualized plans of care, including visit frequency, based on patient needs and identified risks.
• Coordinate care with interdisciplinary team members and consult with physicians and nurse practitioners.
• Provide emotional, physical, and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones, including education, comfort, and bereavement guidance.
• Teach patients, caregivers, and family members about disease processes, self-care, end-of-life care, medications, nutrition, dietary needs, and safe caregiving.
• Help patients and families understand medication administration, hospice philosophy and services, symptom and pain management, and end-of-life processes and expectations.
• Communicate changes in condition and signs or symptoms of decline to appropriate providers, such as a nurse practitioner, primary care provider, or hospice physician.
• Support continuity of care by identifying and supporting appropriate home health, palliative care, and hospice referrals, and transitions between levels of care.
• Maintain timely, accurate clinical records, including assessment findings, physician orders, progress notes, and care plans.
• Maintain effective working relationships with the interdisciplinary group and involve the team when the care plan warrants collaboration.
• Follow infection-control, regulatory, compliance, and organizational policy standards.
• Participate in on-call and patient-support activities as applicable, responding in a clinically competent and timely manner.
• Support quality-improvement and scheduling initiatives to promote consistent, compassionate, and efficient care.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• 401(k) with company match
• Career advancement opportunities
• National and local recognition programs
• Teammate Assistance Fund
• Medical insurance (additional full-time benefit)
• Dental insurance (additional full-time benefit)
• Vision insurance (additional full-time benefit)
• Mileage reimbursement or fleet vehicle program (additional full-time benefit)
• Paid time off and seven paid holidays (additional full-time benefit)
• Wellness programs, including telemedicine, diabetes management, and joint and spine concierge care (additional full-time benefit)
• Education support and tuition assistance (ASN to BSN, BSN to MSN) (additional full-time benefit)
• Free continuing education units (additional full-time benefit)
• Company-paid life and long-term disability insurance (additional full-time benefit)
• Voluntary pet, critical illness, accident, and long-term care benefits (additional full-time benefit)

What This Job Offers

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