Team Manager Home Care

VITAS Healthcare•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Team Manager leads the Patient Care Team and supervises, evaluates, and coordinates interdisciplinary team members. The role ensures continuity of care from admission through discharge, transfer, or bereavement; advocates for patients; coordinates with community social-service and health-care providers; and maintains patient records throughout the care process. The manager directs patient-care services, including volunteer and bereavement services, and ensures they are integrated into the interdisciplinary plan of care. The role oversees admissions and discharges, recertification decisions, palliative care coordination, service levels, team scheduling, and care coordination 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The manager facilitates team meetings and participates in an on-call rotation. The position supervises and develops staff, manages schedules and assignments, reviews payroll, and supports clinical practice and customer service. It monitors regulatory compliance and clinical documentation, conducts chart and utilization reviews, participates in quality improvement and program reviews, responds to patient and family concerns, and supports customer-service and community activities. The manager also oversees patient-care resource use, productivity, labor, budgets, and related bills and invoices, and pursues professional development while mentoring newly hired Team Managers.

Requirements

Reliable transportation and an appropriate driver’s license and insurance coverage for the driver and passengers.
Private telephone in the home.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of primary medical and nursing care, including working knowledge of oncologic nursing and palliative care.
Basic understanding of interpersonal dynamics in interdisciplinary health-care teams and knowledge of dying and bereavement.
Working knowledge of the VITAS information system (Vx) and ability to use management reports.
Two years of successful supervisory experience or equivalent in a health-care organization.
Current and valid R.N. license to practice in the state where the VITAS program is located.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Direct all patient-care services for the team, including volunteer and bereavement services, and ensure they are integrated into the interdisciplinary plan of care.
Review pending and new admissions, assessments, histories, and alive discharges to ensure eligibility and appropriateness criteria are met.
Collaborate with team and attending physicians regarding palliative care measures for pain and symptom management.
Ensure complete, accurate documentation is available for timely recertification decisions.
Review imminent alive discharges and ensure effective discharge planning.
Monitor staffing, medications, durable medical equipment, supplies, and changes in level of care to ensure services meet patient and family needs.
Manage the team schedule and coordinate services for patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Facilitate team meetings and interdisciplinary updates and revisions to plans of care.
Participate in the on-call rotation.
Interview, select, train, supervise, evaluate, and dismiss team staff in conjunction with the Patient Care Administrator.
Assess staff competence and performance through field visits, documentation reviews, and team-based in-services.
Serve as a staff resource and mentor on clinical issues, documentation, problem-solving, and customer service.
Oversee staff and volunteer schedules and territory assignments to distribute workload equitably and support productivity expectations.
Review and approve payroll, verifying accurate documentation of time, mileage, and additional expenses.
Monitor clinical records and team activities for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with VITAS policies and regulatory standards.
Develop and implement performance-improvement activities and participate in quality and service-improvement programs.
Ensure the team completes patient and family satisfaction surveys and implements quality-improvement measures and standards.
Assist with regulatory surveys and information requests as directed by the local program.
Conduct substantive chart reviews to verify evidence of quality care.
Participate in Outcomes Management and the annual program review.
Perform utilization reviews of continuous-care and inpatient levels of care for team patients.
Address patient, family, physician, and MCO problems, grievances, and service failures with relevant staff, vendors, and departments, and work toward prompt resolution.
Analyze customer-service issues and work with team members to improve performance.
Speak with patients, families, and attending physicians when a patient is considering revocation to seek solutions to avoid unnecessary revocation.
Visit long-term-care and contract-bed facilities to support care-plan integration, customer satisfaction, and discussion of appropriateness criteria.
Participate in customer in-services and professional, voluntary, or community service organizations.
Verify and approve admitting IPOC diagnoses, treatments, staffing, and supplies.
Monitor patient resource utilization and ensure cost-effective service delivery.
Manage and be accountable for productivity, labor, and patient-care costs in relation to budget.
Approve bills and invoices related to patient-care services.
Attend in-services, educational seminars, and workshops; develop and achieve professional growth goals; and mentor newly hired Team Managers.