Lead Nurse, Palliative Care

Description

Contessa offers a unique opportunity for individuals interested in being part of an organization that is leading the country in redefining the way care is provided to patients. Contessa’s care delivery models bring all the essential elements of inpatient and outpatient care to the comfort and convenience of a patient’s home. Our models enable provider organizations and health plans to deliver high-quality, safe and affordable care to patients with a broad range of health conditions. At Contessa, you will have the opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of patients and be at the forefront of shaping a pioneering space in the health care industry. 

About the Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Palliative Care at Home Program

The CCM and Palliative Care at Home Program is a community-based program for adults with serious illness and their caregivers offered by a unique company, Contessa Health, owned by Amedisys. The program provides coordinated, high quality, interdisciplinary care to patients and families facing challenges associated with advanced illnesses. 

The full clinical team is comprised of community health workers, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and physicians. The clinical team will work in collaboration with patients’ other healthcare providers to provide high quality, evidence-based complex, chronic care management, and palliative care in patients’ homes, supported by robust guidelines and care processes. Contessa and Amedisys’ other home-based services, such as Hospital at Home, Home Health and Hospice, all work to support patients and caregivers in their homes. 

The program is designed to improve symptoms and quality of life, reduce caregiver burden, and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and ED visits.

Lead Nurse Role Description

We are seeking to recruit a dynamic and enthusiastic full-time Nurse Lead to work within the CCM and Palliative Care at Home team. The Nurse Lead will have both direct clinical responsibilities and act in a supervisory capacity to the field nurses within the team. Primary responsibilities for this role will include:

• Working with patients and caregivers to assess goals of care, document advance directives, and make appropriate treatment plans based on goals
• Monitoring care plans in conjunction with the rest of the clinical care team
• Evaluating medical needs for a specific caseload of patients, and providing them direct, continuous care
• Advocating for the patient and caregivers in liaison with other care providers to ensure care is both coordinated and consistent with patient’s goals
• Participating in the measurement and assessment of care-related processes and outcomes to improve the quality of patient care
• Communicating plan of care to primary physicians and other consulting clinicians
• Educating patient/family on trajectory of illness, use of medications (including reviewing side effects, how to administer, and purpose), and assessing disease understanding
• Participating in the weekly IDT meeting, together with the rest of the care team

Supervisory Duties:

• Works independently and in collaboration with the Clinical Manager in onboarding, training and managing the Field Nurses.
• Exhibits a high degree of leadership expertise in problem solving, mission/practice standards, job performance skills, and communication. 
• Works with the Clinical Manager and the Clinical Educator on the onboarding, training, ongoing coaching, audit and performance reviews of the field nurses.
• Works with the Clinical Manager and the recruiter to recruit and hire Field Nurses.
• Communicates organizational policies and procedures, evidence-based best practices, and regulatory/industry changes to direct reports.
• Supports direct reports in their achievement of individual professional growth goals through coaching and mentoring, evaluation, and collaborative performance improvement expectations. 
• Collaborates with other leaders and teams to foster clinical excellence, fiscal stewardship, employee development and retention, and service growth.
• Ensures compliance with policies, procedures and regulatory mandates including but not limited to abiding to the terms of the Amedisys Compliance Program. 
• Monitors and evaluates employee performance. Holds employees accountable for the attainment of defined goals and objectives. Executes effective performance redirection when needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Expected working hours will be Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM with potential for on-call and weekends as a secondary patient resource.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in nursing 
• Master’s degree in nursing is desirable

Licensing

• Registered Nurse License in TN

Certification

• Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse (CHPN) from Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC)

Essential Skills / Experience

• Minimum of 2 years of experience managing patients with medically complex and chronic illness
• At least 2 years of leadership/clinical management experience
• Clinical assessment skills – including history taking, examination, ordering appropriate investigation
• Competence in management of problems experienced by patients with life-limiting illness
• Strong communication and teamwork skills

Desirable Skills / Experience

• Home care experience
• Palliative care/hospice experience 
• Chronic illness management experience 
• Advanced communication skills
• CPR certification, ACLS certification 
• Ability to speak Spanish

Our team members are our greatest asset, that’s why you’ll find that Contessa has built a culture around trust, open communication, and a unified desire to change the way healthcare is being delivered. It’s important to us that you like your job, are motivated by the work you do every day and feel supported by leadership. Contessa offers a generous compensation and benefits package, a strong belief in a healthy work-life balance, and great opportunities for career growth.