A person who is designated, in writing, by the Governing
Body as administratively responsible for all aspects of hospice operations.
When the administrator serves more than one licensed agency, he/she shall
designate, in writing, an alternate to serve as administrator for each site
where he/she is not physically housed continuously. The alternate shall be a
full-time, on-site employee of the hospice and shall meet the same
qualifications as the administrator. The administrator and the Director of
Nurses/Alternates may be the same individual if that individual is dually
qualified.
1. Qualifications -
Licensed physician, a licensed registered nurse, a social worker with a
bachelor's degree, or a college graduate with a bachelor's degree and two (2)
years of health care management experience or an individual with one (1) year
of healthcare management experience and three (3) years of healthcare service
delivery experience that would be relevant to managing the day-to-day
operations of a hospice. EXEMPTION: Any person who is employed by a licensed
Mississippi hospice as the administrator, as of the effective date of these
regulations, shall be exempt from these requirements as long as he/she remains
employed by that hospice as the administrator. If the hospice is sold to,
acquired by, or merged into another legal entity, such transaction shall have
no effect on the exemption provided in the preceding sentence.
2. Responsibilities - The administrator shall
be responsible for compliance with all regulations, laws, policies, and
procedures applicable to hospice specifically and to Medicare/Medicaid issues
when applicable:
A. Ensure the hospice employs
qualified individuals;
B. Be
on-site during business hours or immediately available by e communications when
working within the geographic service area;
C. Be responsible for and direct the
day-to-day operations of the hospice;
D. Act as liaison among staff, patients, and
governing board;
E. Designate, in
writing, an individual who meets the administrator qualifications to assume the
authority and the control of the hospice if the administrator is unavailable;
and
F. Designate in advance the IDG
he/she chooses to establish policies governing the day-to-day provisions of
hospice care.
