Please help!!!! What are the best hospice companies out there for nurses?

[shewalke]

If anyone could enlighten me about good hospice companies to work for, I would really appreciate input. Are there any companies out there that don't have case managers working on-call every other week, admissions (including on weekends), and cover huge geographical locations (three counties) due to being short-staffed. I am really getting burnt out and frustrated. I love working with patients, but I feel that I am losing having my own time to focus on my personal life and money isn't the best either. At this point I couldn't get a part-time/prn job even if I wanted to. I thought being in hospice would put great balance to my life, but I am starting to feel like a slave. If anyone could give me insight on what direction to take, I could really use the suggestions! Thank you.

[northga gal]

It may depend upon where you live, as there could be big differences within the same company. I am new to hospice and didn't really know which companies were good in my area either. There is a thread on this listserv about questions to ask in interviews--just use the search feature. I used that as a basis for compiling my own list of questions. Then I contacted hospice companies that covered the area I live in. I interviewed with 5 companies and received 4 offers. I turned down the first 3 offers because they didn't feel right. This whole process took about 3-4 weeks. By the time I did accept a position, I felt I had a good handle on what the competition had to offer. Before you interview figure out what is most important to you and this will make it much easier to size each company up. For me it was a good work-life balance (reasonable caseload and minimal on-call), good support/orientation, and a competitive salary--in that order. Good luck!

[IMAHospiceRN]

Medicare is about to cut funding for hospice care, which will result in further cut backs by providers. NHPCO is fighting the cuts, but if they don't win, it's going to get a bit tougher out there. My agency stands to loose approx. $1-million/year.