What are the responsibilities and job description for the Medical Director - Pediatric Physician position at Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care?
Founded in 1982 as Joliet Area Community Hospice, Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness is an independent, non-profit healthcare provider licensed in 11 counties in northwest Illinois. We have a state-of-the-art facility and the first free standing in-patient Hospice Home in Illinois. We have a 35 year history for providing compassionate professional care to terminally ill patients and their families. We are state licensed and Medicare / Medicaid certified.
We currently have a part time opening for a Pediatric Medical Director. The Pediatric Medical Director will have overall responsibility for the medical component of the Pediatric hospice program. The Pediatric Medical Director will provide oversight of physician services by complementing attending physician care, acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of hospice medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. Other responsibilities include :
- Serve as a hospice champion in the community.
- Act as a liaison to community physicians by providing consultation and education to colleagues and attending physicians related to admission criteria for hospice and palliative care.
- Act as medical liaison with other physicians at Lightways
- Provide training regarding the medical aspects of caring for terminally ill patients to physicians, personnel, and volunteers.
- Review patients' medical eligibility for hospice services, in accordance with hospice program policies and procedures, and establishing the plan of care in conjunctions with attending physician and interdisciplinary group prior to providing care written certification of terminal illness.
- Provide written certification of the terminal illness for all subsequent benefit periods.
- Perform face-to-face encounters within thirty (30) days of the third and subsequent hospice benefit certification periods and attest to the encounter. (NP may complete the encounter and report findings to the hospice physician).
- Consult with attending physicians regarding pain and symptoms management for hospice patients.
- Manage oversight of the patient's medications and treatments.
- Act as medical resource to the hospice interdisciplinary group.
- Attend interdisciplinary group meetings and working in a team approach with the group.
- In conjunction with the attending physician and interdisciplinary group, reviewing and updating the plan of care at least every 15 days, or more frequently as needed.
- Document care provided in the patient's clinical record, providing evidence of progression of the end-stage disease process.
- Act as primary physician for patients whose referring / attending physicians desire to relinquish that care and / or if the referring / attending physicians are not available for further contact.
Qualifications include must be a board certified Physician, hospice experience highly preferred. This part time position works approximately 20 hours per week and is not eligible for benefits.
