FAMILY CARE SPECIALIST - JOB #640SW

Houston

LifeGift offers hope to the thousands of people in Texas and beyond who need lifesaving organ and tissue transplants. As the designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for North, Southeast and West Texas, we partner with more than 200 hospitals across 109 counties. Established in 1987 as Gulf Coast Independent Organ Procurement Organization, LifeGift is approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) and the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB).

LifeGift offers a variety of benefits. Full time employees are offered the following insurance plans: medical, dental, vision, LTD, STD, and Life. You can even select additional “al la carte” benefits to meet all of your needs. You can also enroll in our 403b, flex spending accounts for medial and childcare needs, and participate in our tuition reimbursement programs.

This critical position has recently been reclassified to enable LifeGift to provide base pay well above the market average. Relocation assistance is available to candidates who value the following:

• A position which helps save lives and offer hope
• A mission-driven organization committed to providing a positive culture with a focus on employee development
• A great place to live for those who like the excitement of the nation’s 4^th largest city or the tranquility of nearby suburbs
• A relatively low cost of living, diverse population, & warm weather

Basic Function

The Family Care Specialist provides on-site response to advocate for donation and support families through the organ and tissue donation process. 

Essential Functions

On-Site Donation Advocacy and Donor Family Support

• Delivers high quality bereavement support to potential donor families.
• Responsible for educating potential donor’s Next-of-Kin (NOK) about donation options, status of donor designation, or requesting authorization for donation from legal NOK.
• Obtains authorization or disclosure with first person authorization and conducts a donor risk assessment questionnaire (DRAI) with appropriate NOK/surrogate of the potential organ donor.
• Rapid on-site support for donor families at hospitals.
• Works in strong collaboration with hospital personnel, LifeGift’s Authorization Coach (AC)/Administrator-on-Call (AOC) and clinical staff to evaluate and determine the best time to discuss the opportunity for donation with potential donor families.
• Works closely with donor family and LifeGift clinical staff to complete accurate answers to Uniform Donor Risk Assessment Questionnaire.
• Ensures effective communication and strong collaboration with donor families, hospital personnel, physicians, related donation agencies, and other LifeGift staff.

Documentation and Ongoing Family Support

• Refers donor families to LifeGift’s Aftercare Program, community agencies and as requested and appropriate.
• Supports donor families by attending OR in Donation After Circulatory Death Donation (DCDD)
• Follow up with donor families post organ and tissue recovery to provide outcome of donation.
• Ensures strong collaboration with the organ, tissue, and hospital development departments to ensure the maximization of organ and tissue donation opportunities.
• Works closely with hospital development to ensure a cohesive approach to hospital interactions.
• Attends after action reviews
• Conducts in-services as needed
• Assists the Director Family Care in the planning and execution of various training and meetings

Admin and Quality Responsibilities:

• Completes, accurate, and timely documentation of donor related activities in computerized confidential donor record, and forms according to established policies and procedures.
• Participate in timely resolution of non-conformance investigations and development of appropriate corrective and preventative actions.
• Submit appropriate documentation for all training events attended.

Other Responsibilities:

• The Family Care Specialist will follow other instructions/directions and will perform other related duties as required by the needs of the company and the management team.
• Values: Must uphold the core values of LifeGift; these include professional, compassion, passion.
• Exhibit behaviors supporting strategic anchors of dual advocacy, expertise and fiscal strength.
• Adheres to LifeGift’s Code of Excellence at all times.
• Perform other duties as assigned.                                                                                                                              

Qualifications

       A. Education / Experience

1. Bachelor’s degree in nursing or applied science, or allied health work experience required
2. Certification or license in nursing, social work, or grief counseling preferred.
3. Experience and/or training in a healthcare setting working with families suffering loss/grief preferred
4. Valid driver’s license is required.

 

2. Skills / Aptitudes  

1. Crisis intervention skills and a demonstrated ability to discern between grief issues and other life issues that merit referral to other resources are necessary.
2. Knowledge of medical terminology
3. Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, and general office equipment
4. Ability to see the organizational goals and generate reports for outcome and performance measures
5. Ability to maintain confidentiality
6. Ability to demonstrate LifeGift core values of Passionate, Compassionate and Professional
7. Ability to deliver effective verbal and written communication
8. Travel may be required
9. Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences

 

3. Working Conditions

1. Working environment will consist of hospital and office environments.
2. Requires the ability to work in group situations and with the general public.
3. Must be able to work outside of normal business hours including nights, weekends, holidays, and extended hours and this position requires on call responsibilities.
4. OSHA category I: Tasks that involve exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues.        

4. Physical and Mental Requirements

1. Position requires finger dexterity that would normally be used to operate a telephone and computer equipment
2. Must have command of the English language and be able to speak clearly to convey information to business contacts and other LifeGift employees over the phone or in person.
3. Requires ability to work under stress with numerous interruptions, distractions and changing priorities.
4. Must have the mental capacity to retain business and technical information.
5. Must be able to sit for at least eight hours a day with occasional breaks.
6. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, pull, or otherwise move objects.

Qualified Applicants must be legally authorized for employment in the United States. Qualified Applicants will not require employer sponsored work authorization now or in the future for employment in the United States.