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Do you have compassion and a passion to help others? Transforming healthcare and millions of lives as a result starts with the values you embrace and the passion you bring to achieve your life’s best work.(sm)

The Palliative Care RN/Case Manager coordinates care and provides initial ongoing nursing assessment of the patient and family needs and coordination of the patient’s plan of care with interdisciplinary team members and the palliative care attending physician.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Conducts medical home visits on established Bridges in Complex Care patients performing a hands-on exam at each visit
• Conducts urgent/acute visits on established Bridges in Complex Care patients with the goal of keeping the patient out of the hospital in order to receive the best medical care at home
• Provides ongoing assessments of the impact of life-limiting chronic illness on the patient’s physical, functional, psychosocial and environmental needs
• Assess for caregiver burnout, and provide community resources when appropriate
• Implement the individualized plan of care and recommend revisions to the plan as necessary
• Ability to perform procedures, to include, but not limited to:
  • Wound care and dressing changes
  • Phlebotomy
  • Injection (B12, vaccines)
• Ability to conduct an advanced care discussion with a patient and their family and properly document their wishes in the electronic medical record
• Consults and educates the patient/family and other caregivers regarding the disease process, pain and symptom management, end of life care and processes for dealing with issues of ethical concern
• Initiates appropriate preventive and rehabilitative nursing procedures when appropriate
• Ensure continual assessment of patient and family needs from admission to Bridges in Complex Care throughout the course of care
• Provides ongoing evaluation of the patient and family/caregiver response to care, and recommends alteration of the plan when necessary
• Attends the interdisciplinary meeting and is a crucial and vocal member of the team
• Solves problems by gathering and/or reviewing facts and selecting the best solution from identified alternatives.  Decision making is usually based on prior practice or policy, with some interpretation.  Applies individual reasoning to the solution of a problem devising or modifying processes and writing procedures
• Conducts telephonic nursing follow up and case management when necessary
• Serves as a resource or consultant for LVN
• Attends educational offerings to keep abreast of palliative care and complies with licensing requirements
• Establishes a trusting relationship with identified patients, caregivers, clinic staff members and physicians
• Collaborates with the providers to recommend policies, procedures and standards which affect the care of the Bridges in Complex Care Patient
• Exhibits professionalism and is courteous with all patients, physicians and co-workers
• Informs the provider of patient’s needs and outcomes of interventions as per standards
• Determines the scope and frequency of services needed based on acuity and patient/family needs
• Coordinates all patient/family services and prioritization of needs with the members of the interdisciplinary team
• Documents in the electronic health record progress toward established goals as per standards
• Uses the case management approach and refers to other services as needed
• Maintains a patient case load, daily visits and point of care documentation levels as per standards
• Participates with the on-call rotation schedule and weekends as assigned
• Performs all other related nursing duties as assigned

This position requires local traveling within the assigned McAllen, TX market, and surroundings counties including home visits, but must be available to travel to other locations as determined by the business. Mileage Reimbursement will be provided based on the department guidelines.  

You’ll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

Required Qualifications:

• Registered Nurse with a current license to practice in the state of employment
• 5+ years of experience in a physician’s office, clinical, hospice or hospital setting
• Demonstrated experience of excellent nursing skills
• Experience related to advanced care planning and discussions with patients regarding end-of-life wishes
• Proficient knowledge of palliative care and end-of-life symptom management
• Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Outlook
• Access to reliable transportation
• This position requires Tuberculosis screening as well as proof of immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella, Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis through lab confirmation of immunity, documented evidence of vaccination, or a doctor's diagnosis of disease. 
• Full COVID-19 vaccination is an essential job function of this role. Candidates located in states that mandate COVID-19 booster doses must also comply with those state requirements. UnitedHealth Group will adhere to all federal, state and local regulations as well as all client requirements and will obtain necessary proof of vaccination, and boosters when applicable, prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing certification
• 2+ years of hospice experience
• Knowledge of palliative and hospice medicine
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) language proficiency
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Ability to interact productively with individuals and with multidisciplinary teams
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills

Physical & Mental Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 100 pounds
• Ability to sit for extended periods of time
• Ability to use fine motor skills to operate office equipment and/or machinery
• Ability to receive and comprehend instructions verbally and/or in writing
• Ability to use logical reasoning for simple and complex problem solving

To protect the health and safety of our workforce, patients and communities we serve, UnitedHealth Group and its affiliate companies require all employees to disclose COVID-19 vaccination status prior to beginning employment. In addition, some roles and locations require full COVID-19 vaccination, including boosters, as an essential job function. UnitedHealth Group adheres to all federal, state and local COVID-19 vaccination regulations as well as all client COVID-19 vaccination requirements and will obtain the necessary information from candidates prior to employment to ensure compliance. Candidates must be able to perform all essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Failure to meet the vaccination requirement may result in rescission of an employment offer or termination of employment.

Careers with WellMed. Our focus is simple. We're innovators in preventative health care, striving to change the face of health care for seniors. We're impacting 550,000+ lives, primarily Medicare eligible seniors in Texas and Florida, through primary and multi-specialty clinics, and contracted medical management services. We've joined Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of companies, and our mission is to help the sick become well and to help patients understand and control their health in a lifelong effort at wellness. Our providers and staff are selected for their dedication and focus on preventative, proactive care. For you, that means one incredible team and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.(sm)

WellMed was founded in 1990 with a vision of being a physician-led company that could change the face of healthcare delivery for seniors. Through the WellMed Care Model, we specialize in helping our patients stay healthy by providing the care they need from doctors who care about them. We partner with multiple Medicare Advantage health plans in Texas and Florida and look forward to continuing growth.

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: OptumCare is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employers and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

OptumCare is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.