Hospice Clinical Intake Nurse – RN or LPN/LVN
Employment Type: Full-Time
Department: Clinical Operations
Reports To: Clinical Leadership
Schedule: Monday - Friday
Location: on-site
Compensation: $75k to $85k
Join Our Hospice Team
We are seeking an experienced Hospice Clinical Intake Nurse (RN or LPN/LVN) to join our clinical operations team.
This is an ideal opportunity for a hospice nurse who has strong clinical knowledge but enjoys the medical review, eligibility, intake, compliance, and coordination side of hospice care.
The Clinical Intake Nurse serves as an important clinical resource during the referral and admission process. You will review medical records, identify clinical indicators supporting hospice eligibility, recognize documentation gaps, assist with Medicare compliance, and work closely with Intake, Admissions, Clinical Leadership, physicians, and the Hospice Medical Director to help patients access hospice services efficiently and appropriately.
This position requires previous hospice experience and a strong understanding of hospice eligibility, admission standards, Medicare requirements, and clinical documentation.
Experience with Homecare Homebase (HCHB) is strongly preferred.
What You’ll Do
As our Hospice Clinical Intake Nurse, you will:
- Perform clinical reviews of incoming hospice referrals.
- Review medical records for clinical indicators supporting hospice eligibility.
- Evaluate disease progression, functional decline, nutritional status, hospitalizations, comorbidities, and other relevant clinical information.
- Apply Medicare hospice eligibility guidelines, applicable Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), and organizational admission criteria within your scope of practice.
- Identify missing, incomplete, or conflicting documentation that may affect hospice eligibility or admission.
- Request or coordinate additional clinical documentation when necessary.
- Escalate complex or questionable eligibility cases to the appropriate RN, Clinical Leader, physician, or Hospice Medical Director.
- Collaborate with Intake Coordinators and Admission Nurses to facilitate timely admissions.
- Assist with prioritizing urgent and time-sensitive referrals.
- Communicate effectively with physicians, hospitals, facilities, referral sources, and internal clinical teams.
- Review and manage referral workflows within Homecare Homebase (HCHB).
- Monitor referrals for outstanding documentation and workflow delays.
- Help ensure clinical documentation is complete and available prior to admission.
- Identify opportunities to improve intake efficiency and admission quality.
- Participate in quality assurance, QAPI, compliance, and process-improvement activities.
What We’re Looking ForRequired
- Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN) license in the state(s) where assigned duties are performed.
- Previous hospice clinical experience.
- Knowledge of the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
- Understanding of hospice eligibility and admission requirements.
- Experience reviewing medical records and clinical documentation.
- Understanding of documentation supporting terminal prognosis.
- Strong clinical judgment and critical-thinking skills.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple referrals and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Comfortable working within an electronic medical record and referral management system.
Strongly Preferred
- Three (3) or more years of hospice experience.
- Previous experience in hospice intake, admissions, medical review, utilization review, eligibility review, quality, or compliance.
- Experience reviewing patients against hospice LCD guidelines and clinical eligibility indicators.
- Homecare Homebase (HCHB) experience, particularly intake and referral workflows.
- Experience collaborating with hospice physicians and Medical Directors.
- Knowledge of CMS hospice regulations and Conditions of Participation.
- Hospice quality, compliance, or survey-readiness experience.
You May Be a Great Fit If You…
- Know hospice and understand what documentation tells the patient's clinical story.
- Can quickly identify the important information in a large medical record.
- Understand the difference between a hospice-appropriate diagnosis and documentation that actually supports terminal prognosis.
- Are comfortable identifying when additional documentation or clinical clarification is needed.
- Understand Medicare hospice eligibility and admission requirements.
- Are organized and can manage multiple referrals without losing attention to detail.
- Enjoy solving workflow problems and preventing issues before they reach the admission team.
- Communicate confidently and professionally with nurses, physicians, referral sources, and clinical leadership.
- Have experience working in HCHB and understand how a referral should progress through the intake workflow.
- Believe that timely admissions and regulatory compliance can—and should—work together.
Why This Role Matters
Hospice intake is more than processing a referral.
A strong clinical intake process helps ensure that patients receive hospice services when they need them while protecting the integrity and compliance of the hospice program.
The Clinical Intake Nurse helps answer three critical questions before admission:
Does the clinical documentation support hospice eligibility?
Do we have the information necessary to move forward appropriately?
What needs to happen next to provide the patient with a timely, compliant admission?
Your clinical expertise will help our Intake and Admissions teams make informed decisions, reduce avoidable delays, improve documentation quality, and provide a better experience for patients, families, and referral partners.
Scope of Practice
All responsibilities are performed in accordance with the nurse's RN or LPN/LVN scope of practice, applicable state Nurse Practice Act, Medicare requirements, and organizational policies and procedures.
When this position is filled by an LPN/LVN, matters requiring RN-level assessment or nursing judgment will be appropriately escalated to an RN or Clinical Leader.
The Clinical Intake Nurse supports the hospice eligibility review process. Certification of terminal illness and determinations reserved for authorized practitioners remain the responsibility of the appropriate physician or Hospice Medical Director in accordance with Medicare requirements.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this position includes:
- Timely clinical review of hospice referrals.
- Accurate identification of potential hospice eligibility indicators.
- Early identification of missing or insufficient clinical documentation.
- Consistent and accurate HCHB referral workflows.
- Clear communication between Intake, Admissions, Clinical Leadership, and physicians.
- Fewer preventable admission documentation deficiencies.
- Appropriate escalation of complex eligibility cases.
- Improved referral-to-admission turnaround times.
- Strong Medicare and regulatory compliance.
- A responsive and professional experience for referral partners, patients, and families.
Benefits
We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package that may include:
- Competitive salary
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid holidays
- Retirement plan
- Continuing education opportunities
- Professional development
- Hospice and compliance education
- Supportive clinical leadership
Specific benefits and eligibility may vary based on employment status.
Our Commitment
We are committed to providing compassionate, clinically appropriate, and compliant hospice care. We believe excellent hospice care begins with a strong intake and admission process—and with experienced clinicians who understand both the patient's needs and the regulatory responsibilities of hospice.
If you are an experienced Hospice RN or LPN/LVN who understands clinical eligibility, medical record review, Medicare hospice requirements, and the importance of getting the admission right from the beginning, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.
Pay: $75,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Flexible spending account
- Free parking
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Mileage reimbursement
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Referral program
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
