Director of Patient Care Services, Hospice
Hire a hospice Director of Patient Care Services who can lead IDG follow-up, record review, and survey preparation with clear clinical boundaries.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 954-738-4689.
Get a free talent snapshot · Get a free job description review
What does this hire really come down to?
This leadership role connects field practice, Interdisciplinary Group decisions, and the records that support hospice care. During a typical week, the director reviews assessments and plans of care, follows up on IDG actions, coaches clinicians on repeat chart gaps, and reports material concerns to agency leadership and the proper medical leader.
General nursing supervision is not enough. Hospice leaders may hear different views from nursing, social work, spiritual care, and the medical team about decline, goals, or discharge. Ask how the candidate records each discipline’s observations, identifies who may make the medical decision, and assigns follow-up after the meeting.
Look for a correction process rather than a polished account of survey work. Ask about incomplete recertification support, late plan-of-care updates, or inconsistent assessment details. What did they review first, who received feedback, which corrections were appropriate, and how did they check for the same error later?
What do we ask candidates about?
- Ask for a specific IDG example. If nursing documented decline while social work or spiritual care described a different picture, how did the candidate keep discussion tied to observations? Ask how they recorded actions, assigned owners, and involved the medical leader when a medical determination was needed.
- Test survey-readiness work by asking for sequence. How did they select records for internal review, separate one error from a pattern, assign corrective work, and check whether staff repeated the issue? Preparation means accurate records and honest staff responses, not guessing when a surveyor will arrive.
- Discuss Hospice Conditions of Participation through daily tasks. Ask which provisions affected comprehensive assessments, plans of care, IDG records, admission documentation, or discharge review. Listen for what changed in the chart or during clinician follow-up, not a list of rule names.
- Review live discharge judgment carefully. Ask how the candidate examines records when eligibility, revocation, transfer, or discharge questions arise. A sound answer names the documentation reviewed, the disciplines involved, and the route for medical determinations.
- Ask how reporting data changes field practice. If reports showed missed visit documentation or overdue plan updates, what would they examine before coaching? They should distinguish training gaps from unclear ownership, poor handoff practices, or a form that prompts incomplete entries.
- Confirm work history, credentials, and scope before presenting finalists. Verify an active professional license when your state or role scope calls for one. Ask about comparable state survey experience, then complete your own credentialing, clinical assessment, and state-specific review.
We discuss experience and qualifications. Your team assesses clinical ability and completes the credential checks before hiring.
Where do we look, and why would they move?
Useful source pools include hospice clinical leaders from nonprofit providers, regional multi-site hospices, and combined home health and hospice organizations. Some bring deep quality-review work but limited authority over IDG follow-up. Others have led field teams but need closer review of survey preparation and formal record oversight.
A director may consider a move after reporting changes, reduced authority over clinical decisions, service-area expansion, or disagreement about quality-review practices. Ask what decisions they owned, who could overrule them, and what happened when an experienced clinician repeated a charting error.
Which mistakes stall the search?
Hiring a general home health manager without testing hospice IDG work, eligibility documentation, live discharge review, and end-of-life care planning.
Treating reimbursement-related documentation as back-office work instead of asking who reviews records, coaches staff, and addresses repeat gaps.
Giving the director unclear authority over chart correction, escalation, and quality review, then blaming them for decisions reserved for others.
How does your search work?
Tell us who you need
We ask about the job, your team, the requirements and what you can offer.
We find and contact people
We research suitable backgrounds and speak with candidates about their experience and interest.
You meet the strongest candidates
We explain why we recommend each person and arrange introductions for your interviews.
We help you complete the hire
We help with feedback, the offer, notice and practical questions before the start.
Tell us the job, setting and location. We will discuss your requirements and the terms before a search begins.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
The role and the setting
Not ready to start a search?
Get a free talent snapshot
We explain where to look for people with the experience you need and what could make your job hard to fill. No fee. No obligation.
Get a free job description review
Paste or upload your job description. We point out unclear duties or terms that may put suitable people off. No fee. No obligation.
What do employers ask us?
How soon should a new director address documentation and audit habits?
Timing depends on the findings, staff structure, and authority you give the director. Ask finalists how they separate urgent record correction from longer-term coaching and how they report recurring concerns to leadership.
How should I discuss a counteroffer with a candidate?
Ask what change they seek beyond compensation. A director may want clearer clinical authority, a defined reporting relationship, or input into quality-review practices. Describe your actual decision structure without promising autonomy you cannot provide.
Does patient volume matter more than hospice size?
Neither fact alone predicts fit. Ask about documentation volume, geographic coverage, IDG coordination, staff supervision, and survey work the candidate handled. Compare those duties with your model and after-hours escalation process.
How do I assess knowledge of my state’s rules?
Ask which state survey processes the candidate has experienced and what they did after findings. Confirm an active professional license when applicable, then complete your own review of state-specific scope, credentialing, and operating rules.
Do I pay fees before I hire a candidate?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Healthcare Headhunters screens hospice director candidates for IDG leadership, record review, survey preparation, work history, credentials, and fit. Tell us who holds clinical authority, and we will focus on candidates who can work within it.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
Hospice Executive Director / Administrator · Clinical Liaison (Home Health & Hospice)