Director of Clinical Operations Hospice

The Director of Clinical Operations assists the Executive Director in all functions of clinical oversight of the provider. This includes oversight of the eligibility of patients referred to hospice services and services provided to patients and supervising their care; maintaining administrative practices, agency philosophy, goals, and policies which assure compliance with applicable state and federal regulations; enhancing the profitability of the agency while maintaining quality of care; and providing motivation and retention of qualified staff.

• Responsible for compliance with all hospice regulations, laws, policies and procedures, including regulations related to the Medicare and Medicaid hospice benefit, as well as any requirements related to private or managed care insurance.
• Ensures that the hospice agency employs only qualified hospice personnel.
• Present on-site during business hours or immediately available by telephone when off-site conducting agencybusiness and available after hours, as needed.
• Directs the day-to-day clinical operations of the agency including training and orientation, regulatorycompliance, interdisciplinary group effectiveness, growth, and education regarding hospice services.
• Oversees all patient care activities to ensure compliance with current standards of accepted nursing and medical practice and regulatory standards on a constant basis.
• Promotes hospice education to referral sources and the community at large.
• Works closely with agency hospice physicians as well as community physicians to drive clinical excellence for patients facing end-of-life.
• Ensures that patient care services are provided according to the plan of care, as ordered by the physician.
• Provides clinical oversight and supervision according to licensure type, scope of practice, and state regulatory guidelines.
• May participate as a member of the hospice agency Governing Body and facilitates Governing Body meetings that support review and discussion of the hospice agency activities regarding clinical care and quality oversight.
• Acts as liaison between staff, patients, families, the hospice management team and the hospice Governing Body.
• Provides oversight of hospice billing processes to ensure billing practices meet regulatory requirements and reflect patient care provided.
• Ensures adequate staffing through recruitment and retention activities.
• Ensures timely completion of assigned hospice agency staff evaluations.
• Identifies education needs and ensures adequate clinical and process education for clinical staff.
• Reviews monthly financials and cost management reports with Executive Director/Executive Administrator relative to all aspects of the operation to ensure that quality patient care is delivered in the most cost effective manner.
• Assists with oversight of the hospice agency quality assurance performance improvement program, to include use of objective data to improve performance in the areas of improved patient/family care and activities related to patient health and safety. Specific performance improvement activities include, but are not limited to, root cause analysis and development of action plans and focused performance improvement projects.
• Ensures that staff personnel files are maintained according to state and federal guidelines, as well as accreditation standards, if applicable.
• Completes required courses through LHC Group learning management system and attends in-services, when applicable.
• Functions as a preceptor to new hires as needed, and according to discipline-specific licensure guidelines, if applicable.
• Oversees and/or directly investigates all patient complaints, and alleged or real violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse of a patient.
• Oversees and/or directly investigates all patient-related sentinel events.
• Serves as the infection control contact for the agencies, is responsible for the direction, provision, and quality of infection control services, and effectively enforces infection control practices among agencies to include infection control and isolation protocols according to the CDC, OSHA, and LHC policy.
• Acts as Emergency Coordinator during emergencies ensuring appropriate plan execution.
• May act as back-up to the agency Executive Director/Executive Administrator.

Education & Experience

• Must be a licensed registered nurse in the state of operation.
• At least 3 years of experience in a hospice, home health, or other health care service delivery system setting preferred.
• At least 2 years of healthcare leadership preferred.
• Current CPR certification.
• Current Driver's License and vehicle insurance, and access to a dependable vehicle, or public transportation. Additional State Requirements
• FL: Must have supervisory or hospice experience and completion of a hospice training program from the employing hospice.
• LA: Must have at least three (3) years experience as a Registered Nurse with one of these years consisting of full-time experience in providing direct patient care in a hospice, home health, or oncology setting. Must not be employed by more than one (1) hospice provider.
• MS: Must have at least three (3) years experience as a Registered Nurse with one of those years consisting of full-time experience in direct patient care in a hospice, home health, or oncology setting; or the management of patient care staff in an acute care setting, hospice, or home health. Must be a full-time employee of only the hospice agency.
• NJ: Must have a master’s degree in nursing and two (2) years combined public/community health nursing and progressive management experience in public health nursing OR a bachelor’s degree in nursing and three (3) years combined public/community health nursing and progressive management experience in public health nursing.
• TX: Must have at least one (1) year experience as a Registered Nurse within the last 36 months.
• VA: Education and experience with terminally ill required.
• AL, AR, AZ, CO, GA, ID, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, NC, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, WA, WV: No additional state specific requirements.