Day in the life of
Hospice Social Worker – Peter Kingsley, LICSW-A
I am a mental health therapist and a hospice social worker in Idaho.
Most of my time as a hospice social worker is getting people access to resources and visiting them. On my typical day, I have a morning coordination meeting with the 5 other staff members, and then I drive out to see people during the day, returning late morning or afternoon for paperwork and to complete unfinished tasks like Veteran’s benefits, Medicaid, funeral arrangements, etc. Every day is a little different.
Today I had a few visits with hospice patients in their homes, followed up with some volunteers (this is volunteer appreciation month) and drove around to present some gifts to our volunteers. I also called some patients regarding Medicaid and possible Advanced Pay Tax Credit insurance and getting onto our services somehow. Some insurances have a hospice benefit, and I had to call them to ensure we were in their network. It turns out we are, so we were good to move forward for that patient.
As with most social workers I meet, if you’re in any sized agency, you usually wear several hats. When I started, I was the bereavement coordinator, the volunteer coordinator, and the social worker. Since then, the chaplain has taken the bereavement coordinator role, and I work with the volunteers and am still the social worker. My job as the social worker is basically paperwork and planning. I meet with families and make sure their end-of-life plans are solid, and if they have/need veterans benefits, powers of attorney, etc. Planning can be difficult and emotional and can stretch between several meetings, but it’s important to talk about it. When they have difficulty navigating systems or are confused about who to call, I often take those projects (whatever they are) and do the calling, the paperwork, and the follow-up. For example, I recently had a veteran who wanted to know if his granddaughter could become his professional caregiver. I contacted the State Veteran Service officer and got them in touch with the VA experts to possibly work something out.
As a volunteer coordinator, I manage a staff of 10 volunteers to meet the federal requirement for hospice. We are required to have 5% of all hospice hours be completed by a volunteer and I have to follow up every month to make sure we’re staying on the mark. I love working with the volunteers who have a genuine concern for their neighbours. We present quilts as part of the national Quilts of Valor program for our veterans as well. Unfortunately, it can be frustrating at times trying to get the support that people need, and no volunteers are available and then your boss is concerned when we don’t meet the metric. As with a lot of jobs, you feel like you have all the responsibility, but very little power. So that’s a big con.
Pros
Every day comes with new tasks and ways to help people directly. I’ve always wanted to help people on a 1-to-1 basis, and this gives me the opportunity to sit with people and help them in the most meaningful way possible.
Cons
I’m an hourly employee, so sometimes my pay is variable and depending on the workload, it’s not dependable.
