Hospice Chaplain - Social Services

Overview

To be fully engaged in providing Quality/No Harm, Customer Experience, and Stewardship by nurturing a positive Hospice environment where the health and well-being of each individual is supported through the delivery of excellent spiritual and emotional support. Recipients of pastoral/spiritual support include the entire spectrum of the hospice community: patients, patient families, loved ones, associates, physicians, volunteers, and area Communities of Faith.

Hospice of Health First Pastoral Care Services is an extension of Health First Pastoral Care Services.

• Responsible for the spiritual needs of patients, patient families, and caregivers, as well as occasionally with staff and volunteers by providing pastoral and spiritual care interventions, including pastoral counseling, which is determined by spiritual assessment, the specific setting, and sensitivity to a variety of values, beliefs, and religious orientations.
• Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team, providing both spiritual input into the plan of care as well as interpretation of spiritual and emotional issues, and coordinates visits to patients/families as determined by spiritual assessment and the interdisciplinary plan of care, including participation in the IDT meetings weekly for the designated team/area.
• Interacts with local community of faith leaders to support the needs of patients and families of a specific faith, including supporting spirituality issues with the community as requested.
• Assists in the development and implementation of policies and procedures as pertain to hospice pastoral care services with input from other disciplines and associates as appropriate and monitors the availability of appropriate resources of spiritual encouragement to assist the team in supporting ongoing spiritual needs of the patients/families.
• Attends and actively participates in ongoing education to maintain and improve current knowledge base and skills.
• Participates in Quality Improvement activities to promote a safe work environment, meet or exceed Family Evaluation of Hospice Care goals and improve those processes that support patient care, as well as ensure all regulatory and accreditation standards (NPSG, infection control processes, etc.) are met.
• At the direction of the Social Services Manager or designee, responds as appropriate to crisis situations throughout Health First and the community when a patient, family, associate, or entity is in need of spiritual or emotional support, i.e., hurricanes, mass casualty events, etc.
• Provides requested sacrament/ritual or referral to appropriate Community of Faith in a timely manner. Hospice chaplain documents in the medical record, as appropriate.
• Provides support to the bereavement department as needed which could include post death calls, support groups and/or memorial services.
• Maintains an awareness of fiscal responsibility within the department by managing expenses and assuring productivity standards.

• Education:
  
  Master’s in Divinity, Theology, or comparable degree from a properly accredited institution. Two units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).
• Work Experience:
  
  Minimum of five years ministry and counseling experience.
• Licensure:
  Endorsement and/or ordination by faith community to operate as a chaplain in a healthcare environment.
• Skills/Knowledge/Abilities:
  Ability to provide spiritual care and counseling as an interfaith chaplain, dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of all those seeking guidance, counsel and assistance, respecting and appreciating the diversity of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, age and paths to oneness.

• Education:
  
  Four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE).
• Work Experience:
  
  Two years’ experience in hospital or hospice pastoral/chaplaincy setting.
• Certification:
  Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains or cognate group.

• Physically agile; requires walking, standing, running, bending, stooping, kneeling, climbing, or crouching majority of the shift.
• Heavy work that frequently includes lifting…