Hospice Weekend Nurse - Hospice Homecare

Hospice Weekend Nurse – Hospice Homecare

Job Summary:

The Weekend Hospice Registered Nurse provides skilled nursing care and clinical support to hospice patients and families Friday 5pm through Monday 8:30am. Responsibilities include triaging after-hours calls, completing all scheduled and necessary visits, performing admissions and starts of care, and delivering compassionate, patient-centered care in accordance with the plan of care and regulatory requirements.

1. Provide weekend nursing coverage for hospice patients and families to ensure patients receive appropriate, timely, and quality care.

2. Triage after-hours calls to assess patient condition, recognize urgent needs, and determine appropriate nursing interventions or visits.

3. Respond to after-hours patient needs by completing clinically indicated home visits based on call triage, including urgent symptom management visits, crisis visits, death visits, and other unplanned visits required to maintain patient comfort and safety.

4. Complete hospice referrals, admissions, and starts of care during after-hours coverage only when the initial referral is received late in the day or when patients are discharged home late in the day, or when determined necessary by the Director (or designee) due to patient condition, safety concerns, or the need for immediate hospice services. These situations may include but are not limited to: New referrals received late in the day for patients experiencing urgent symptom management needs or imminent decline. Hospital, facility, or home discharges occurring late in the day that require same-day hospice initiation to ensure patient comfort and safety. Referrals, admissions, or starts of care identified earlier in the day and able to be safely deferred are not assigned to the after-hours nurse.

5. Complete hospice admissions, referrals, and starts of care during after-hours coverage in compliance with agency policy and state and federal regulations.

6. Provide skilled nursing care and interventions consistent with the written plan of care and physician-prescribed medical plan, with a focus on symptom management and comfort.

7. Recognize signs and symptoms of actively dying patients and communicate clinical changes to appropriate members of the interdisciplinary team.

8. Coordinate inpatient care, respite care, and routine home care services as appropriate to ensure continuity of care across settings. 9. Maintain accurate, timely documentation of all calls, visits, assessments, and services in accordance with regulatory requirements and agency standards. 10. Maintain a professional image and demonstrate empathy, professionalism, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, age-appropriate care, and excellent customer service while coordinating weekend after-hours workload. 11. Other job duties as required.

Qualifications /Training:

• Must have active patient contact within the past year.

• AGE SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS: All general population. The primary age served as indicated above.

• Age specific characteristics will be reviewed annually through age-specific computer-based training. At the end of each review period, each employee will be evaluated on age-specific characteristics within the clinical area and be able to appropriately communicate to patients and families using characteristics based on each age group served.

Licenses/Certifications/Registrations/Education:

• Current South Carolina RN License. Current South Carolina Driver’s License and Automobile Insurance as required by law. 

• Current BLS certification (American Heart Association)

• A minimum of one to two years of RN experience is required, with hospice, home health, palliative care, or medical-surgical experience preferred. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to work independently during after-hours coverage, exercise strong clinical judgment, and effectively triage patient needs. 

• Excellent communication, documentation, and customer service skills are required, along with knowledge of hospice philosophy and applicable state and federal regulations.