On Call Triage Director – Hospice & Home Health (On Call)

The Pennant Group•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The On Call Triage Director provides clinical oversight and leadership for afterhours Hospice and Home Health triage services. This role ensures consistent application of evidence-based triage protocols, timely escalation of urgent needs, and effective coordination with on call field staff, providers, and agency leadership. The position requires advanced clinical judgment, strong leadership presence, and the ability to guide staff through high acuity and emotionally complex situations while maintaining regulatory and organizational standards.

Requirements

Active, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license.
Minimum of 5+ years of recent clinical experience in hospice, home health, emergency, ICU, or acute care.
At least 2+ years of clinical leadership, supervisory, or on call management experience.
Advanced clinical assessment, critical thinking, and independent decision-making skills.
Strong verbal communication skills with ability to lead and support staff in telephone-based care.
Proficiency with EMR documentation and after-hours clinical workflows.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience overseeing hospice or home health triage operations.
Strong expertise in hospice symptom management and end of life care.
Experience with structured triage protocols, quality monitoring, or clinical operations leadership.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior clinical leader for afterhours triage operations across Hospice and Home Health.
Provide real time consultation and guidance to RN Triage Specialists during complex or high-risk clinical situations.
Ensure consistent, evidence based clinical decision making and appropriate escalation of care.
Support safe staffing, call coverage, and operational continuity during nights, weekends, and holidays.
Oversee telephone triage processes to ensure timely response, thorough assessment, and appropriate interventions.
Monitor triage documentation for clinical accuracy, completeness, and compliance with agency policy.
Identify trends, high risk scenarios, and opportunities for process improvement in afterhours care.
Partner with clinical leadership to refine triage protocols, workflows, and on call practices.
Provide expert guidance on end-of-life symptom management, comfort measures, and caregiver education.
Support triage staff in managing emotionally complex situations involving death, active dying, or caregiver distress.
Ensure after hours pronouncement procedures are followed in accordance with agency policy and state regulations.
Guide clinical decision making related to acute condition changes, post procedure complications, wound concerns, and medication issues.
Ensure appropriate deployment of on call field staff for urgent visits when patient needs cannot be managed by phone.
Support safe, timely escalation to physicians or emergency services when indicated.
Serve as a key point of contact between triage staff, on call field clinicians, physicians, and agency leadership.
Ensure significant clinical events and trends are communicated to daytime leadership for follow up.
Promote effective hand offs between after hours and daytime teams to maintain continuity of care.
Provide leadership during emergent or high-risk situations including uncontrolled symptoms, respiratory distress, falls, caregiver crisis, or safety concerns.
Model calm, supportive de-escalation and decision making during high stress events.
Ensure patient and caregiver safety through appropriate activation of emergency services when required.