Decedent Affairs Coordinator

Join a leading healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate and comprehensive care. As a vital part of our team, you will step into a profoundly impactful role, ensuring dignity and respect for patients even after life has ended. This position offers a unique opportunity to provide crucial support to families during sensitive times, playing a pivotal role in continuity of care and creating a sense of closure. Your expertise will be instrumental in navigating complex postmortem processes, making a tangible difference for countless families and our dedicated clinical staff.

To be considered for this role, you must:

• Be authorized to work in the United States
• Not require sponsorship of any kind for the duration of the assignment
• Be able to work on a W-2 basis. C2C or 1099 is not permitted for this position
• Be able to work overnight shifts

About the Role

Our dedicated team is the central entity managing the postmortem care, storage, and release of remains for deceased patients across our integrated health system. You will work within the clinical setting, collaborating closely with nurses and physician teams, providing compassionate and direct post-mortem care. By honoring personal wishes and offering emotional and logistical support, you will extend care to patients in their final phase, ensuring their dignity and respect are upheld. Your primary responsibility will be to ensure continuity of care for all patients by assuming responsibility for them after death.

What You Will Do

• Support patients prior to death.
• Assist nursing and medical teams with all aspects of postmortem care.
• Work directly and in-person with patients and families in complex and sensitive cases of fetal demise and perinatal loss.
• Serve as a vital part of the patient care team, providing expert guidance to patients, family members, and hospital staff.
• Act as the primary point of contact for families and other associated parties during and after a patient's death for all issues related to disposition and funeral home releases.
• Consult with Spiritual Care Services and refer families as needed for grief support and religious/cultural needs.
• Work closely with families and hospital staff to ensure that the deceased's unique preferences and cultural/religious practices are respected.
• Obtain valid consent for autopsy and provide follow-up after the exam.
• Collaborate with medical staff, law enforcement, and relevant external agencies to ensure timely and legally compliant disposition with the least liability to the organization.
• Handle the disposition of all fetal remains in cases where families elect for hospital disposition.
• Manage patient transport teams following the death of a patient to transport patients to the morgue.
• Oversee the morgue and physical remains, ensuring proper identification of each deceased patient and accurate completion and maintenance of all necessary documentation, such as death certificates and medical records.
• Ensure bodies are stored in temperature-controlled environments that preserve their integrity and monitor conditions to ensure compliance with all health and safety regulations.
• Facilitate autopsies and organ donation by acting as a liaison between pathology departments, the autopsy team, and organ procurement organizations to ensure processes are completed with care, respecting patient and family wishes, and legal requirements.
• Facilitate viewing of deceased patients, preparing the body with the goal of ensuring dignity, respect, and a peaceful presentation for family and loved ones.
• Make next-of-kin determinations and communicate with families.
• Act as the sole point of contact for families regarding the death of their loved one, next steps, and navigating complexities of funeral home selection.
• Review all death cases and provide pertinent and clear information to the family of the deceased.
• Provide consultation regarding autopsy, disposition, and social services.
• For patients with no listed next-of-kin or emergency contacts, conduct a thorough next-of-kin search, notify families of patient deaths as needed, and if no family is located, refer to the county Public Administrator as appropriate.
• Perform entry of death certificate records into electronic systems, ensuring accurate and timely completion.
• Document timely and accurate information to ensure complex case management.
• Manage complex and sensitive case processes and communicate pertinent information to necessary stakeholders.
• Act as a liaison between mortuaries and our facilities.
• Coordinate Release of Remains documentation, autopsy, and organ donation holds.
• Serve as a liaison with anatomical gift programs and research departments, coordinating with next-of-kin researchers concerning procurement of tissue and specimens solely based on opportunities for scientific research.
• Provide "just-in-time" education for physicians, nursing staff, and families at the time of a patient's death, serving as a subject matter expert in cause of death.
• Support staff and families surrounding all aspects of inpatient deaths.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Minimum four (4) years of experience in a healthcare or bereavement setting.
• Demonstrated human relations and effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.
• Critical attention to detail.
• Strong coordination and organizational skills required to prioritize deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to interpret and analyze clinical data and medical records.
• Ability to navigate electronic death registration systems and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Proven ability to provide independent coordination and decision-making for all activities of a specified program.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• Funeral home, mortuary, or healthcare decedent care experience.
• Previous experience in patient satisfaction/customer service.
• Knowledge of medical terminology/bereavement training.
• Electronic Death Registration System experience/certification.
• LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
• CAFD - California Funeral Director License.

About Aquent Talent:

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.

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