Part Time Hospice Chaplain

Douglas County Visiting Nurses; Lawrence (KS); On-site; USD 50,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Employee assistance program

Flex spending account

401k

401k matching

Job summary

Douglas County Visiting Nurses seeks a Chaplain to travel to patients’ homes, providing spiritual care as part of the Hospice IDG and coordinating bereavement services for families and caregivers.

The role requires theological education, a Master of Divinity with denominational endorsement, and experience in bereavement. Strong interfaith sensitivity and ability to educate staff and volunteers are essential.

Qualifications

• Graduate theological education with a minimum of two years experience in related field.
• Certified Professional Chaplain and Master of Divinity with denominational endorsement and current license in field.
• Completion of at least 2 units of clinical pastoral education or experience as hospital/hospice chaplain or clergy leadership.

Responsibilities

• Actively participate in spiritual component of hospice and palliative care.
• Provide consultation to Hospice IDG regarding spiritual care assessment and plan of care and bereavement tools.
• Develop and maintain relationships with professional clergy to access spiritual resources.
• Educate clergy about hospice and palliative care and various faith beliefs.
• Provide direct spiritual care and support to patients, families, and caregivers including bereavement services.
• Follow up with families during bereavement.
• Facilitate communication with faith communities when needed.
• Participate in meetings to assist with program evaluation and improvement.
• Serve as a resource to staff for spiritual care and staff support.
• Provide education opportunities to staff to enhance sensitivity to spiritual concerns.
• Participate in volunteer training and support volunteers.
• Collaborate with patient/family and Hospice team to ensure safe, quality services.
• Report patient status to Hospice Manager.
• Document all contacts in the medical record.
• Demonstrate alignment with mission and philosophy of hospice.
• Assist with community awareness and marketing activities for Hospice.

Skills

Interfaith communication

Bereavement counseling

Staff education and training

Volunteer coordination

Relationship building with clergy

Education

Theological education

Master of Divinity

Denominational endorsement

Tools

EMR systems

Email software

Job description

The Hospice Chaplain is responsible for traveling to a patient/client's place of residence to provide social work services. The Chaplain is a member of the Hospice Inter-Disciplinary Group (IDG) responsible for providing spiritual care services to assigned patient/clients and procuring spiritual care when appropriate for patient/clients, families and caregivers. The Chaplain/Bereavement Coordinator provides support and education to staff and team and coordinates and supervises the delivery of comprehensive bereavement care services to Hospice and community bereaved. The Chaplain networks and collaborates with community groups/agencies providing bereavement services to maximize utilization of resources.

Chaplain

• Actively participate in spiritual component of hospice and palliative care.
• Provide consultation to Hospice IDG regarding spiritual care assessment and plan of care and bereavement tools.
• Develop and maintain relationship with professional clergy or other appropriately qualified spiritual care providers to allow access to spiritual resources.
• Educate professional clergy about hospice and palliative care and learn about various faith belief systems regarding hospice and palliative care.
• Provide direct spiritual care and support to Hospice patient/clients, families and caregivers in accordance with individual needs and preferences, including bereavement services.
• Follow up with families/caregivers during bereavement.
• Facilitate communication with faith community when unable to access spiritual provider identified by patient/client or family.
• Participate in meeting with Hospice Manager and psychosocial team to assist with program evaluation and improvement.
• Serve as a resource to staff for spiritual care; provide spiritual support to staff; provide support for staff addressing their own personal and professional grief and loss issues.
• Provide education opportunities to staff to enhance their sensitivity to the spiritual concerns of patient/clients, families and caregivers experiencing terminal illness and loss.
• Participate in volunteer training and provide support to volunteers when appropriate.
• Collaborate with patient/client, family, caregiver and Hospice team to ensure the delivery of safe and efficient quality hospice services.
• Report patient/client status to Hospice Manager.
• Document all patient/client, family and caregiver contacts in the medical record.
• Demonstrate concern and support of the mission and philosophy of hospice in daily work performance and in interactions with staff members.
• Assist with community awareness and marketing activities for Hospice.

Qualifications

• Graduate of theological education or its equivalency with a minimum of two years experience in related field.
• Certified Professional Chaplain and Master of Divinity and denominational endorsement with current license in field.
• Completion of at least 2 units of clinical pastoral education or experience as a hospital chaplain/hospice chaplain or experience in clergy leadership.

Experience

• Basic level knowledge of EMR (electronical medical records) and email functions.
• Endorsement or connection to recognized religious community.
• Comfort in interfaith setting; ability to provide spiritual care across wide spectrum of individual, family and staff needs.
• Experience in providing grief counseling or group facilitation.
• Knowledge of bereavement theories.
• Training specific to the provision of pastoral/spiritual care.
• Training and experience with death/dying, end of life and medical issues.

Benefits

• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flex spending account
• 401k
• 401k matching