Kidney Care Advocate I

PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

Under the direction of a Kidney Care Advocate Manager, collaborates with internal and external care teams, to ensure a positive experience for every patient living with kidney disease through education, modality options, access placement and follow through, and if applicable, to eventual admission into kidney care services. Assists with presenting materials on Home Dialysis to providers, patients and other groups, as requested.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborates with Regional Home Therapy team through the provision of administrative support, to ensure every patient along with their care giver and support system (if applicable) receives comprehensive education on modality options including hemodialysis treatments both at home and in-center, peritoneal dialysis, kidney transplantation, and palliative and supportive care, as well as education on hemodialysis access types with a focus on the health and safety benefits of AV-Fistula or AV-Graft compared to central venous catheters.
• Under the direct supervision of a RN or Kidney Care Advocate, provides information regarding options for renal replacement therapy when a patient reaches end stage renal disease (ESRD), allowing the patient to make an informed decision regarding the option that meets his/her medical needs and lifestyle choices.
• Responsible for assisting patient care team in order to navigate patients through initiation of dialysis, or in transition from in-center hemodialysis to home therapy, including but not limited to proper and timely access placement.
• Maintains routine communication with physicians, physician practices and administrators, and the interdisciplinary team members, including Clinic and Home Program Managers.
• Assists in establishing processes with physician practices as well as local clinics for patient referrals and evaluation of the effectiveness of processes on an ongoing basis.
• Responds promptly to all referrals.
• Coordinates the timely admission of patients, including urgent start placements into Home Therapy and In-Center programs. Collaborates with operations leadership to identify home therapy training delays and help to resolve any barriers to expediate training.
• Strives to meet Fresenius Kidney Care Home Therapies awareness goals by maintaining strong physician and partner relationships and identifying opportunities for increasing patient education referrals.
• Assists field operations management, Home Therapy leadership, and other departments with implementation of the home therapy strategic plan. Responsibilities include but are not limited to understanding local and regional kidney disease trends and population needs, identifying expansion of service opportunities, and understanding relationships with both physicians and prospective patients.
• Maintains knowledge of FMCNA Home Therapies products, services and strategies in order to promote FMCNA Home Therapies to the community through outreach programs.
• Supports educational programs for physicians and Fresenius staff as needed.        
• Responsible for promoting Kidney Care Advocate services and Kidneycare:365 education to providers including physicians within the guidelines established by Company policies and procedures.
• Ensures accurate and timely documentation of patient interactions and status, through maintenance of SAP database.
• Escalates issues to supervisor for resolution, as deemed necessary.
• Reviews and complies with the Code of Business Conduct and all applicable company policies and procedures, local, state and federal laws and regulations.
• Assists with various projects as assigned by direct supervisor.
• Performs other related duties as assigned. 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:

• The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Day to day work includes desk and personal computer work and interaction with patients, facility staff and physicians. The position requires frequent prolonged periods of standing.
• The work environment is characteristic of a health care facility with air temperature control and moderate noise levels. May be exposed to infectious and contagious diseases/materials.
• The position may require a significant amount of driving on specific days in terms of visiting between clinics in order to complete the duties and responsibilities set forth above.
• Local and regional travel is required as requested. May work some evenings and weekends as required to assist with modality education.           

SUPERVISION:

• None

EDUCATION:

• High School Diploma or an equivalent combination of education and experience, college degree preferred
• All appropriate state licensure, education and training (if any) required.
• CCHT and/or LPN preferred.

EXPERIENCE AND REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Minimum of one-year experience in patient interaction, teaching or sales, with required education.
• Dialysis experience preferred.
• Demonstrated skills in customer service and ability to work autonomously.
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills.
• Proficient in Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and use of smart phones and other computing devices.
• Must be able to multi-task and manage cases in a Salesforce database or Customer Relationship Management system. This skill is preferred, not required.
• Results oriented to exceed established goals.
• High level of emotional intelligence and demonstrated ability to relate to persons of all ages and diverse backgrounds, skills and abilities.
• Proven ability to be a team player.

EO/AA Employer: Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

Fresenius Medical Care North America maintains a drug-free workplace in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.