Home Health/Hospice Nurse

Hospice Nurse Position

We Care Hospice and Midwest Healthcare Providers, Inc. is a small business in healthcare. We are professional, innovative, and our goal is to provide excellent care to our patients. This includes the hospice team being committed to providing care for those with a chronic illness or at end of life, their families, and our hospice/palliative team members through the practice of Standards of Excellence. APEX Hospice and Palliative Care promotes dignity, respect, choice, and voice as our priority to each individual. We collaborate with community healthcare professionals to provide the patients with a positive experience. Plus, the office staff are with you every step of the way.

We are looking for nurses to cover the northside of Chicago and suburbs; northside of Chicago and suburbs; and the west side of Chicago and suburbs. Nurses must be experienced with home health and/or hospice.

We are looking for a home health/hospice manager to work in the office. This pay is different than the nursing staff who are in the field. The office is located in Skokie, Illinois.

Our work environment includes:

• Growth opportunities
• Pay is based on visits
• Relaxed atmosphere
• Flexible working hours

Position Summary:

The registered nurse plans, organizes and directs hospice care or home health care, as an experienced nurse. We provide emphasis on community health education/experience. The Hospice nurse plays a key role in easing physical and psychosocial symptoms, while initiating communication with the interdisciplinary team to establish a plan of care for each patient. The Home Health nurse provides the care that is needed for the patient to get well or assisting them in reaching their optimal expectancy.

Essential Job Functions:

• Performs all duties and responsibilities in accordance with the Nurse Practice Act and in accordance with basic principles and guidelines of professional nurses.
• Performs an initial, comprehensive, and ongoing comprehensive assessment of patient and family to determine hospice needs.
• Provides a complete physical assessment and history, including symptom and pain management, of current and previous illnesses.
• Responsible for initiating reviewing and revising each patient's plan of care, as assigned.
• Completes visit documentation in accordance with the Hospice Medicare Benefit guidelines and regulations.
• Provides education regarding disease process, death and dying with each scheduled visit.
• Contacts patient and/or family prior to visit to remind or schedule the visit.
• Admits new patients to hospice or home health (if needed) as assigned and initiate the plan of care within five (5) days of admission.
• Initiates appropriate preventive and rehabilitative nursing procedures.
• Administers medications and treatments as prescribed by the physician in the physician's plan of care.
• Provides safety and emergency preparedness education at each visit.
• Practices and teaches patients/families infection control precautions.
• Responsible for ordering and re-ordering hospice covered medications.
• Assesses and monitors the need for durable medical equipment and orders as needed.
• Assists the patient with activities of daily living and facilitates the patient's efforts toward self-sufficiency and optimal comfort care.
• Coordinates patient care with interdisciplinary team that promotes continuity of care.
• Responsible for direct supervision of hospice aides.
• Attends Interdisciplinary team meetings and completes interdisciplinary notes prior to team meeting.
• Takes evening and/or weekend On-Call (only for hospice) if needed and as designated.
• Responsible for working one major and one minor holiday on-call shift annually.
• Responsible for attending deaths, pronouncing deaths and completion of all paperwork for coroner's office.
• Practices collaboration of care with skilled nursing facilities, primary care physician, patient, and family with each visit or significant change in patient status.
• Participates in agency safety, wound care, or infection control committee.
• Completes re-certification note and LCD for each re-certification period.
• Responsible for oversight of medication disposal upon death in accordance with state and federal regulations.
• Completion of Hospice Aide competency at 90-days and annually, adhering to those items which must be demonstrated.
• Assesses caregiver ability to care for patients and recommends residency setting changes.
• Assesses patients for level of care change needs and collaborates with the hospice Medical Director.
• Completes orders and all necessary documents for level of care changes.
• Reports ethical situations for review and participates in Ethics Meetings.
• Provides and documents supervisory visits of hospice aide every fourteen (14) days, ensuring Hospice Aide plan of care is conducive to patient needs and followed through.
• Adheres to agency complaint process and provide in writing any complaints received by patients/families or external customers.
• Assumes responsibility for personal growth and development and maintains and upgrades professional knowledge and practice skills through attendance and participation in continuing education and in-services.
• Makes patient visits outside of assigned territory as assigned by Clinical Supervisor/Clinical Director.
• Complies with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements in accordance with federal, state, and organizational policies.

Required Skills, Abilities and Knowledge:

• Assess, evaluate, and respond to patient situations quickly, providing emergency care in crisis as quickly as possible.
• Ability to work independently, while collaborating with other team members and managers.
• Works with diverse social and economic situations without imposing own values on patient or family.
• Maintains appropriate professional boundaries
• Excellent written and verbal communication and public relation skills.
• Excellent assessment skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Demonstrates effective communication and listening skills.
• Proficient in the use of electronic medical records and other portals to include pharmacy and DME.
• Demonstrates leadership skills that will allow leading the interdisciplinary team.
• Comfortable with administering medications to provide comfort to end of life patients.
• Able to distinguish exposure to blood borne pathogens, infections and universal precautions.

Job Type:

• Part time

Pay:

• negotiable

Medical Specialty:

• Hospice

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• Hospice care: 1 year (Preferred)
• Nursing: 1 year (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• RN License (Required)

Willingness to travel:

• 75% (Required)

Work Location:

• On the road

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Flexible schedule