Coor Bereavement - Hospice

How would you like to work in a place where your contributions and ideas are valued? A place where you can serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice? At Wellstar, our mission is simple, yet powerful: to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve. We are proud to have become a shining example of what's possible when the brightest professionals dedicate themselves to making a difference in the healthcare industry, and in people's lives.

Work Shift

Day (United States of America)

Job Summary:

The mission of Wellstar's Department of Spiritual Health to enhance the spiritual health and well-being of every person we serve. Our vision is to deliver world-class spiritual care to every person, every time. We do this by impact the healing experience by offering compassionate presence and bringing hope to patients and residents, families, staff, and community, solidifying our commitment to the health and well-being of the whole person mind, body, and spirit. Our five-fold values are the following: (1) Integrating professional and compassionate Religious/ Spiritual/ Humanist (R/S/H) care; (2) Refining evidence-based, research-literate practice; (3) Partnering with diverse and global voices; (4) Embracing local R/S/H community leaders; and (5) Honoring the past and building toward the future. The Hospice Bereavement Coordinator functions as an integral part of the Hospice Team to support dying patients and their families/support systems to ensure a dignified, comfortable, respectful, and peaceful end-of-life experience. The Hospice Bereavement Coordinator has the primary responsibility for the oversight of all grief-related matters from the time of admission to hospice through 12 months following the death of the hospice patient.

Core Responsibilities and Essential Functions:

Bereavement Care (Patients, Family, and Staff) * Direct and oversee all bereavement services offered to hospice patients and their families/support systems to ensure the grief and loss needs are met, including special needs groups (i.e. children, trauma); increase the emotional support for anticipated grieving, including follow-up bereavement care, support, and mailings through 12 months following death of hospice patient * Develop process for bereavement referrals, including a bereavement risk assessment tool for use by the IDT (interdisciplinary team); collaborate closely with hospice chaplains and social workers to provide bereavement care and support to patients and their families/support systems. * Triage and follow through on immediate referrals from the IDT to provide direct bereavement care and support to families as needed, including initial grief support intervention, short-term bereavement counseling, and grief education * Ensure that assessed bereavement needs are addressed in appropriate plans of care and implemented by the assigned team members * Coordinate referral services for bereaved families as appropriate, with special attention to high risk bereaved families to minimize complicated grief, prevent pathological grieving, and reduce psychosocial dysfunction. * Attend IDT meetings, including home hospice teams, IPUs (inpatient unit), and skilled nursing facilities to lead bereavement care plan reviews * Collaborate with hospice chaplains to create staff support services to be offered on a regularly occurring basis to mitigate professional caregiver burnout, address emotional/compassion fatigue, and increase retention of professional healthcare providers in hospice services Education and Training * Educate the IDT regarding bereavement risk assessment tool, resources, and intervention for services appropriate for hospice patients and their bereaved families/support systems leading up to and following death * Provide bereavement related educational programs for the IDT within the hospice setting, team members system-wide as needed, as well as the larger community * Sustain and implement a working knowledge of current national standards and guidelines for Hospice Bereavement as directed by NHPCO (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization), CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), and Joint Commission, and ensure compliance. * Support the IDT in efforts to meet and sustain regulatory compliance related to hospice bereavement care and to meet the expected standards and best practices of the WellStar Hospice Bereavement Program * Coordinate and lead training related to hospice bereavement for hospice volunteers * Participate in performance and quality improvement projects, data gathering, and strategic initiatives to support system and department level daily operations and growth Community Engagement and Outreach * Facilitate and coordinate grief support groups with assistance from hospice social workers (and hospice chaplains, as needed), with attention on meeting the specific bereavement needs of the sit