The Hospice Intake Team Assistant xplains MH program services to patients and their families. Functions as a liaison between referral sources and MHS Intake to collect referral information, communicate with family members, and schedule nursing staff to admit patients. Ensures coverage for daily patient needs. 

LPN or MA experience strongly preferred

Education:

• High School Diploma or equivalency (GED), required

Experience:

• Prior healthcare experience, required
• Prior LPN or Medical Assistant experience, preferred
• Experience in home health/hospice services, preferred

Other Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: (Skills may be combined as needed; choose 5-8)

• Communication: Ability to use written and spoken communication in formal and informal situations to convey meaning, build shared understanding, and productively move agendas forward.
• Community Collaboration: Ability to align one’s own and the organization’s priorities with the needs and values of the community, including its cultural and ethnocentric values, and to move health forward in line with population-based wellness needs and national health agenda.
• Initiative: Ability to identify a problem, obstacle or opportunity and then take action in light of identification to address current or future problems or opportunities. Initiative emphasizes proactively doing things and no simply thinking about future actions.
• Innovation: Ability to approach one’s work and the organization in new and breakthrough ways, including applying complex concepts, developing creative new solutions, or adapting previous solutions in promising ways.
• Self-Awareness: Ability to have an accurate view of one’s own strengths and development needs, including the impact that one has on others; willingness to address development needs through reflective, self-directed learning, and by trying new approaches.
• Self-Confidence: Possesses a belief in one’s own capability to accomplish their work. This includes confidence in one’s ability as expressed in increasingly challenging circumstances, and confidence in one’s decisions or opinions.

1. Establishes a close working relationship with referral sources (hospitals, nursing homes, physician offices, families, etc.).

2. Explains the home hospice program philosophy, practices, and regulatory restrictions to referral sources and customers.

3. Fields calls and inquiries and serves as a resource for referral sources to answer questions about hospice criteria, eligibility and troubleshoot patient care issues.

4. Upon referral, interacts with hospice patients and families to assess and evaluate the patient’s social, financial, and environmental situations. Explains hospice philosophy, benefit coverage and eligibility for hospice services.

5. Works with the Admission Team Lead and Hospice manager to manage day-to-day visit and admission schedule of field staff to triage referrals and patient care visits based on needs and staff availability.

6. Works with referral sources to facilitate and schedule timely admissions to home hospice.

7. Participates in Hospice Team functions, quality safety improvement projects, and data collection for Quality Improvement (QAPI) as requested.

8. Triage calls from customers and implements necessary communication to staff, physician offices, and patients regarding information.

9. Assists with chart audits as needed.

10. Requires in-depth knowledge of Medicare requirement, conditions of participation, and regulatory guidelines to review documentation.

11. Fields customer concerns and gathers information for supervisor follow-up.

12. Performs other related work as requested or required.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job.  Incumbents may be requested to perform tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.