Bereavement Counselor

Holy Name Medical Center is a leading healthcare facility dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality care to our community. We are committed to fostering a dynamic and inclusive work environment for our employees.
A Brief Overview
The Bereavement Counselor is responsible for developing and overseeing psychosocial therapy programs aimed at supporting families grieving the loss of a loved one. The role will require the ability to assess, evaluate, document and develop a Bereavement Plan Of Care, as well as collaborate with the Hospice Social Workers and Psychologists to ensure the families psychosocial needs are met. The services to be provided by the Bereavement Counselor include, but are not limited to, spiritual and emotional support to terminally ill patients and their families, as well as grief support to the family before and after the death of the patient. The Bereavement Counselor will be expected to have the ability to work with people of various denominations, beliefs, backgrounds, religious faiths and cultures.
What you will do

• Carries out the bereavement education goals of the Holy Name Hospice department in accordance with the Medicare guidelines and the Hospice Conditions of Participation
• Ability to assess emotional, psychosocial, bereavement and grief needs of family members
• Facilitates bereavement and grief support to caregivers and families in need before and after patient deaths
• Assesses for potential bereavement risk of a patient and/or family and documents the appropriate plan of care
• Provide individual grief counseling to family members in need
• Ability to provide home visits to family members for grief support as needed
• Assists in identifying coping strategies and acceptance of loss for individuals and families in need
• Participates in Interdisciplinary Team Meetings, and creates a treatment plan to enhance the continuity of care
• Communicates well and establishes positive working relationships with all staff. Collaborates with team members and participates in on-call rotation
• Keeps accurate electronic records and submits documentation as required while maintaining confidentiality
• Offers in-services and education to the staff on bereavement and grief
• Incorporates cultural and religious backgrounds and the developmental age of clients into the plan of care
• Identifies paths for their own individual professional growth and participates in continuing education programs

Education Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Social Work or Counseling Required

Experience Qualifications

• 1-3 years Two years of experience in a health care setting with end of life care including counseling patients and/or family members involved in terminal care, grief, and bereavement Required

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong assessment and documentation skills for emotional, psychosocial, bereavement & grief required.
• The job requires extensive standing, walking, and stair climbing, at VMC facility as well as making home visits in various areas may be required for family members when leaving the home is difficult

Licenses and Certifications

• Grief Certificate Upon Hire Preferred

Holy Name Medical Center is a comprehensive, 361-bed hospital offering leading-edge medical practice and technology administered in an environment rooted in a tradition of compassion and respect for every patient. Holy Name provides high quality health care across a continuum that encompasses education, prevention, early intervention, treatment options, rehabilitation and wellness maintenance. The Medical Center offers a robust roster of primary care and specialty physicians, and its Sister Claire Tynan School of Nursing provides academically competitive registered nurse and licensed practical nurse education programs. Ranked among the top hospitals in New Jersey and the nation for patient care, clinical performance, consumer value and workplace excellence, Holy Name has been recognized by NJBIZ's as one of the "Best Places to Work in New Jersey" every year since 2006 - the only hospital to have earned this honor. The Medical Center is fully accredited by The Joint Commission, is Magnet-recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, consistently earns Hospital Safety Grade A scores from Leapfrog Group, and is a national model for culturally sensitive care. Holy Name is a mission-driven facility whose quality standards and philosophy are rooted in the principles of its founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Those principles are exercised daily by the Medical Center's dedicated and talented team of physicians, nurses, allied health employees, and a wide variety of non-clinical administrative and operational staff members. Holy Name Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)