Become a Hospice Administrator – Careers & Outlook

What is Hospice Administration?

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A hospice administrator oversees the entire hospice care process, ensuring patients and families receive comprehensive, compassionate end-of-life care. Their role involves managing the hospice team, including physicians, nurses, social workers, and other staff such as volunteers and therapists. The administrator coordinates all services, from medical care to religious support, ensuring everything runs smoothly to provide the highest quality care.

Hospice administrators oversee various care settings, including inpatient, home-based, and continuous home care. They are responsible for implementing a care philosophy for the terminally ill, which requires expertise in ethics, finance, and care standards, along with a strong sense of compassion. With over 6,000 hospice facilities across the U.S., hospice administrators manage programs nationwide, ensuring that each facility provides high-quality care to terminally ill patients.

Most hospice programs are independent, while others are part of a nursing home, a hospital system, or a home-based care agency. This career path works for nurses who want to work in administration, as well as those with a background in healthcare administration.

Hospice Administration Education and Licensing Requirements

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Becoming a hospice administrator generally requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or a college. You may find entry-level positions with an associate degree, but it may be more challenging to get started on your career path. Often hospice administrators start their career as registered nurses, but undergrad degrees in other areas of study may also be a good starting point. Health administration, business administration, finance, and human resources are all viable options.

Hospice administrators typically need to hold a state-issued license to manage healthcare facilities, including hospices. While specific licensure requirements vary by state, many require administrators to have a background in healthcare management, business, or a related field, along with several years of experience in hospice or long-term care settings. In some cases, administrators may also need to pass exams or meet continuing education requirements to maintain their license. Additionally, certifications such as the Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator (CHPA) can enhance career prospects and demonstrate expertise in hospice management.

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Bachelor’s Degree in Hospice or Health Administration

If nursing isn’t for you, a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration may be your best bet. This area of study covers the full spectrum of the business end of healthcare.

So, you’ll likely include the following:

Internships in a hospice setting can be especially helpful for those seeking hands-on experience in this setting. This role differs from traditional hospital admin, it’s often in a smaller facility and focuses on palliative care.

Master's Degree

While there are plenty of opportunities to start your hospice administration career with a bachelor's degree, a master's will open the door for more opportunities in this field. Ideally, you'd go after a degree in health administration--which will cover a mix of healthcare courses and business, aimed at preparing graduates for advanced roles in healthcare administration.

Most candidates entering a master’s in healthcare administration program do have some background in clinical and non-clinical environments.

Courses usually include:

To become a hospice administrator, focus on specializing in hospice work through elective courses, internships, or a thesis during your healthcare administration studies. While healthcare administration covers the broader business side of healthcare, tailoring your education toward hospice care can give you a competitive edge. In some states, a nursing license may be required, making this a viable career path for those with a nursing background or a bachelor’s degree in hospice administration. While some positions are available with a bachelor’s degree, earning a master’s degree can open doors to higher-paying opportunities and leadership roles.

While a master's degree in health administration is the standard among top-ranking hospice professionals, some alternative degree paths will land you similar opportunities. You can pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master's of Public Health (MPH) or a Master's of Public Administration (MPA).

An MBA will be centered more on finance, marketing, and management, while an MPA or MPH will focus more on policy and legal issues.

Still, a master's in health administration may best prepare students for this unique role in hospice administration. This degree is focused on creating competent leaders with a strong foothold in health administration, clinical issues, marketing, economics, quality control, information systems and healthcare laws.

Additionally, many master's programs in health administrations target mid-career professionals and working adults seeking to advance their job prospects.

Many of these programs also include a capstone project, designed to allow students to apply their recently acquired knowledge to a contemporary topic in health administration.

Possible Roles in Hospice Administration

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There is a wide range of possibilities in the field of hospice administration—whether you’re a nurse or a business person. As a point of reference, job titles might vary based on the size of the facility—and your career level. Some possibilities: hospice branch manager, director of operations, hospice director, administrator, etc.

In other cases, you might find work in a specific department. Some administrators work in volunteer recruitment or bereavement counseling. Those with a nursing background might find a job as a case manager or as head of a department.

Administrator

As a hospice administrator, you'll oversee the programs and care provided to patients, including recruiting and hiring staff, planning internal policies, and evaluating services. Your responsibilities also include fundraising, managing staff, and setting up volunteer programs. Experienced administrators typically manage the entire facility, while those starting out may focus on specific departments, such as billing or volunteer coordination, or work as assistants.

To further your career, you may need a master's degree in healthcare administration or several years’ experience with a bachelor's degree. The aim here, being, to make sure financial goals are met, resources are being allocated, and that a competent staff is taking care of patients—from the paperwork process to things like grief, religious services, and volunteer programs.

Volunteer Coordinator

Hospice volunteer coordinators work to recruit volunteers and outline the role and responsibilities of volunteer staff. As a coordinator, your purpose is to develop volunteer training programs that meet the professional standards of hospice care. You'll select volunteers, assigning tasks that align with their interests, and oversee their job performance, ensuring they remain in compliance with rules and regulations.

Resident Case Manager

A registered nurse, may too, choose a path in hospice administration. As a resident case manager, you’ll assess the care given to patients and act as a liaison between family members and the hospice administration. Instead of working as a hands-on nurse, your job is to oversee a team of nurses, ensuring that they meet certain quality and regulatory standards. Still, you’ll also need to be on-hand for intakes, medication, and rotations.

This role is ideal for someone who already has a career in healthcare but wants to work in an in-between place: part admin, part nurse. Additionally, there are plenty of certifications available to nurses who wish to advance their career.

Certification or Continuing Education?

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Some administrators may choose to further their education by getting certified through the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses or the National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC).

NBHHC Certification

Not everyone is eligible to become a certified hospice administrator. In many cases, you’ll need to have achieved a certain level of education—a bachelor’s or master’s degree—combined with a certain amount of professional experience.

For example, the NBHHC requires candidates with a bachelor’s degree to have five years of hospice management experience or one year of experience working as a hospital administrator. Those with an associate’s degree in healthcare administration must have even more experience under their belt—two years in hospice management or seven in an administrative role.

Exam

Once you’ve determined whether you’re eligible for certification, you’ll need to pass an exam. Hands-on experience will prepare you for many of the questions, but you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time studying. Topics included on the exam include ethics, human resources, planning, management, financial planning, and state/federal regulations.

NBHHC Recertification Process

The NBHHC certificate must be renewed every two years. To get recertified, you’ll need to be actively employed and complete continuing education credits.

CHPCA Certification

Administrators may opt to pursue certification through the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses as a way to demonstrate their expertise.

The Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator (CHPCA), which has since been discontinued, was another option for administrators.

The test served to demonstrate the following:

We mention this certification because professionals who have been certified in the past can renew their license through another organization, the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center.

The HPCC is in charge of issuing certifications to hospice nurses looking to advance their career. While this designation isn’t created with the admin track in mind, it may help nurses gain some additional experience so they can further their career.

Licensing

Hospice administrators do not need a license to work in their field. However, all hospice facilities need to have a state license. Hospices must meet a particular set of standards, which vary by region.

However, most states look for the following criteria when licensing a facility.

In some cases, such as in South Carolina, a hospice facility must employ an administrator with a bachelor’s degree in a relevant area of study. All states require a license, while only some require a certificate of need. CHAP lays this out here.

CHAP licensing likely won’t be relevant at the lower levels, but if you’re running a facility or plan to open your own, site visits, and documentation will be concerns. The organization requires a considerable amount of literature.

Some of what they’ll need:

Salary and Career Outlook

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All signs point to a solid career in hospice administration. A hospice administrator could expect an average salary of $110,680 in 2023, though that total accounts for bonuses, overtime, and tips. Some may earn significantly less if they work in more rural areas, while others can make much more. Administrators with 5-10 years of experience can also expect to receive a bump in pay.

Graduates with a master’s degree may be eligible for several opportunities at the entry and mid-level, depending on the facility. With an aging population, more and more hospice care is bound to be in demand. As such, a career in hospice administration is a promising career, one with plenty of growth potential.