Program Manager, Palliative at ECU Health in Greenville, NC

Job description

Position Summary The Program Manager for Palliative Care is responsible for the operational, clinical, and quality oversight of inpatient and outpatient palliative care services. This role maintains a 70% clinical and 30% administrative focus, providing direct patient care, complex care coordination, consultation support, staff mentoring, and leadership of program operations. The Program Manager serves as a key liaison between physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, social workers, case management, hospital leadership, and referring providers to ensure high-quality palliative care services are delivered consistently across the health system. The position is accountable for consult management, staffing coordination, program metrics, quality improvement initiatives, General Inpatient (GIP) hospice process adoption, and regulatory and national reporting requirements Role Allocation Clinical Responsibilities - 70% Provides direct clinical support and care coordination to patients and families receiving palliative care services while serving as a clinical resource to the interdisciplinary team. Administrative Responsibilities - 30% Provides leadership for operational performance, staff coordination, program growth, data management, quality improvement, and strategic initiatives Responsibilities Participate in direct patient care activities consistent with scope of nursing practice. Support complex symptom management, goals-of-care discussions, and advance care planning. Facilitate healthcare power of attorney (HCPOA) completion and other advance directive documentation. Coordinate care across the continuum, including hospital, outpatient, hospice, home health, skilled nursing, and community settings. Serve as a patient and family advocate throughout serious illness and end-of-life care journeys. Collaborate daily with physicians, advanced practice providers, social workers, chaplains, case managers, and bedside teams regarding patient care priorities. Review, triage, and oversee all incoming palliative care consults. Ensure timely assignment of consults and follow-up visits to the appropriate provider. Monitor daily consult volumes and completion of consult recommendations. Ensure continuity of care and communication among interdisciplinary team members. Serve as an escalation resource for complex patient care and operational issues. Lead organizational efforts to standardize and expand adoption of the General Inpatient (GIP) hospice process. Educate physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and care teams on GIP eligibility criteria and workflows. Collaborate with hospice partners, case management, hospitalist teams, and nursing leadership to ensure efficient GIP transitions. Monitor GIP utilization, barriers, opportunities, and process adherence. Provide patient and family support throughout transitions to GIP care. Serve as a clinical resource for nursing staff, physicians, advanced practice providers, and operational leaders. Facilitate educational initiatives related to palliative care, serious illness communication, advance care planning, and hospice utilization. Support onboarding, orientation, and mentorship of palliative care team members. Facilitate Crucial Conversations® and communication training programs. Coordinate provider assignments to ensure all consult requests and follow-up visits are supported. Establish and maintain coverage schedules for physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, social workers, and other interdisciplinary team members. Monitor workload distribution and staffing requirements to ensure timely patient access. Facilitate daily operational huddles and workflow coordination. Develop, maintain, and report key operational, clinical, and quality performance metrics. Track consult volume, consult completion rates, response times, follow-up completion, advance care planning completion, GIP utilization, hospice transitions, and other program indicators. Produce daily, monthly, quar