Bereavement Counselor - St. Luke's Hospital

• JOB SUMMARY
  • The Bereavement Counselor, under the direction of the Home Care/Hospice Director and the Hospice Manager, is responsible for helping families/caregivers of Hospice patients who have or have lost a terminally ill loved one for thirteen (13) months following the death of a Hospice patient. Support is accomplished in a variety of tasks such as arranging and providing grief counseling, both by phone and in person; addressing end of life concerns; providing oral and written information to the bereaved as needed; performing an initial bereavement risk assessment; developing and following up on a bereavement plan to meet the needs of the family/caregiver; participating as a member of the Hospice IDG; attending IDG team meetings regularly; coordinating the Hospice memorial service; organizing, scheduling and facilitating grief support groups; creating bereavement materials; documenting bereavement services to clients; training new staff. Maintains liaison with Home Care staff, Hospice staff, volunteers and community agencies to ensure the attainment of support required by the bereaved. Must have a strong sense of empathy and ability to tolerate and support high levels of grief and loss.
• MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
  • Education: Graduate School; Masters Degree in Social Work with Minnesota licensure, OR Masters Degree in Theology/Divinity.
  • Experience: One (1) year previous experience in a health care setting working with end of life and/or grief support.
  • Licensure/Certification/Registration: If education is in Social Work then, licensed in Minnesota as Independent Social Worker (LISW), or Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), or Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) PLUS Social Worker licensure in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Background Study upon hire and renewed per Wisconsin state law.
  • If graduate education is in Theology/Divinity, then certification in Thanatology.
• PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Education: N/A
  • Experience: Hospice experience; experience or education with families/caregivers and patients dealing with grief or loss.
  • Licensure/Certification/Registration: N/A
• KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
  • Excellent communication skills; skill in working effectively with other persons in both a supervisory capacity and also as a team member and support person. Ability to exercise good, professional judgment and accept responsibility; to problem solve; to listen effectively and to be clear and direct in oral and written communication; knowledge of current grief theory; ability to work both independently and as part of a team; excellent insight and self-awareness of own grief issues and how they may impact work with the bereaved; ability to recognize and attend to compassion fatigue through self care; be flexible with caseload management and "role blurring:' to appropriately guide persons with financial and emotional concerns; to present information to public groups. Ability to utilize clinical point of care documentation systems and other applicable computerized systems. Extensive ability to plan, organize and prioritize workload in order to produce timely output; do sitting and driving (providing own transportation); ability to regularly travel to and from various duty locations in a safe and timely manner.

  • READING - Intermediate: Ability to read and interpret documents such as operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals.

  • WRITING - Intermediate: Ability to write routine reports, correspondence, or procedures.
  • SPEAKING - Intermediate: Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one, small group situations or before groups of customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.
  • MATHEMATICAL SKILLS - Basic Skills: Ability to add and subtract two-digit numbers and to multiply and divide with 10's and 100's. Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance.
  • REASONING ABILITY - Intermediate Skills: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
  • AGE SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES - Skilled at assessment and knowledgeable of growth and development. Provides appropriate care respective to the ages of the patients served per clinical environment.
• PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND ENVIRONMENT
  • PHYSICAL DEMANDS
    • Ability to hear, sit, walk, talk, bend, and lift up to twenty-five (25) pounds, for an eight (8) hour period

    • Stand - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)

    • Walk - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)
    • Sit - Continuously Over 2/3 (5.5 – 8 hours)
    • Use hands to finger, handle, or feel - Continuously Over 2/3 (5.5 – 8 hours)
    • Reach with hands and arms - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)
    • Climb or balance - Rarely or None
    • Stoop, Squat, Kneel, or Crouch - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)
    • Bending-repetitive forward - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)
    • Talk or hear - Continuously Over 2/3 (5.5 – 8 hours)

  • LIFTING REQUIREMENTS

    • Up to 10 pounds - Frequently 1/3 to 2/3 (2.5 – 5.5 hours)
    • Up to 25 pounds - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)

  • WORK ENVIRONMENT

    • Outdoor weather conditions - Occasionally Under 1/3 (1-2.5 hours)
    • Typical Noise Level - Moderate noise (examples: business office with computers and printers, light traffic)

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