The Heartlight Specialist is responsible for responding to the needs of grieving children and families through advocacy, education, community networking and program development. The Heartlight Specialist provides bereavement support services to children and families manages the components of program operation including family contacts, hospital and community relations, stewardship of donors, staff/volunteer training and supervision.

Essential Job Functions:

• Collaborates to coordinate service delivery with families and appropriate team members across the continuum. Makes necessary referrals to other team members and/or community resources.
• Acts as a resource for hospital staff on bereavement issues by serving on committees and providing in-service education.
• Identifies, assesses, and responds to child/family needs; includes in this process age-specific developmental needs of bereaved children.
• Leads children's support groups; manages children and teens behavior.
• Develops and implements programs for children and their families, including support groups and other bereavement support services.
• Develops relationships with families that are caring, trusting, reliable, and beneficial.
• Provides a psychosocial assessment of patient's ability to cope with anticipatory grief and develops strategies to enhance the patient's abilities.
• Provides timely and effective intervention for families in emergency/crisis situations.
• Educates and trains parents and staff to provide preparation, assessment and bereavement support services for children and families.
• Documents in a thorough and timely manner in accordance with professional standards.
• Presents in-services and other educational programming on bereavement topics to the community and external organizations.
• Communicates with members of the health care team, through formal and informal means of transmitting information, in order to provide optimal care of patients and families. Communicates through both conveying and responding to pertinent information.
• Advocates for and addresses the psychosocial/spiritual/developmental/cultural needs of the dying patient, parents/guardians and siblings through the anticipation of death and following the death.
• Provides orientation, training, supervision and feedback to assigned volunteers. Mentors interns and colleagues, as appropriate.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Requires knowledge of child development and the psychosocial issues surrounding illness and loss and its effects on families normally acquired through the completion of a master's degree in human services or related field of study. Clinical experience working with children and group facilitation required.

Ability to assess clinical needs and think pro-actively, act creatively and take initiative appropriately.

Ability to communicate and present the program effectively, work as a member of a team and adapt to the changing health care environmentessential.

Stamina and energy to maintain direct patient contact on a regular basis with terminally ill persons bereaved children and adults. Ability to coordinate multiple demands made on time.

Spanish speaking preferred.

Previous supervisory and/or leadership experience.

Crisis intervention skill and experience helpful.

Must have ability and willingness to make phone calls from home and Children's Memorial Hospital during some evening hours.