We are VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s leading end-of-life care provider since 1978.
Our hospice organization kickstarts careers in caring, promotes from within, and provides a nationally recognized best-in-class employee experience. Supported by industry-leading experts and a growing network of programs in 15+ states, VITAS empowers team members to grow toward their goals while transforming patients’ lives.
Our priority is to care: For our patients, for each other, and for the future.
What You’ll Do
As a hospice social worker, you will provide emotional and logistical support to patients and their loved ones during an important and vulnerable time. You will ensure VITAS patients reach the end of life with their affairs in order, honoring their wishes for finances, funeral arrangements, and more. Their loved ones will trust you to help them navigate the grieving process.
Whether you’re granting an end-of-life wish or simply listening to a patient’s stories at their bedside, your actions—large and small—will make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients and their families.
WHERE YOU’LL WORK
Each day is different for our social workers. You will spend most of your time caring for hospice patients wherever they call home, which may be a private residence or an assisted living/skilled nursing facility.
About once a week, you'll come to the office to meet with the rest of your interdisciplinary team: the RNs, physicians, chaplains, and fellow nurses who work together to provide 360-degree support to the patients and families we serve.
What’s Expected From You
VITAS social workers honor the trust of our patients and center others in their work. In addition to having your social work license, reliable transportation, and at least one year of social work experience in a health care setting, you'll approach your work with the traits that make the VITAS Difference: Commitment, Compassion, and a Can-do Attitude.
You will keep patient welfare at the center of everything you do, giving your best each day in service of our core commitment: Extending comfort and dignity to all people at the end of their life’s journey.
Job Requirements
- Ability to travel per job requirements.
- Thorough knowledge of community resources or the desire/ability to obtain this knowledge.
- Knowledge of key psychosocial issues prevalent with terminally ill patients and their family/caregivers, including the knowledge of effective psychosocial interventions to address those issues.
- Capacity to relate and work well with others as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
- Excellent listening and communication skills.
- Ability to be an effective patient and family advocate- both within the patient/family unit, within the core IDG, and within community agencies and the like.
- Provide emotional and psychological support to patients and families.
- Offer counseling and crisis intervention services.
- Provide bereavement support and grief counseling.
- Educate patients and families on the emotional and psychological response to the illness progression
- Masters of Social Work required from a school accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, unless grandfathered in per the 2008 Medicare Hospice Condition of Participation
- At least one year social work experience in a health care setting.
- Experience as a social worker with the terminally ill and their families, preferred
- Experience in providing counseling and support to patients and families.
- Empathy and compassion in dealing with seriously ill patients and their families.
- Equivalent experience of licensure may be considered where allowable by State Regulations. (i.e. a BSW in FL or WI) License and/or Certification if required by State
AL:Licensed Bachelors of Social Work (LBSW)
CA: BSW cannot be used as the core SW.
CT: Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)
DC: Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW)
DE: Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW)
FL: BSW
GA: Licensed Master Social Worker
IL: Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
MO: Baccalaureate Social Worker (BSW)
NJ: Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
OH: Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
PA: Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
TX: Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW)
VA: Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
WI: Social Worker Certificate
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
- EOE/AA M/F/D/V
About the company
Company website•Hospitals and Health Care
VITAS Healthcare is the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care, guided by a mission to deliver compassionate, personalized support that honors every life and every moment. Our vision is to be the trusted leader in care, offering empathetic, innovative, patient and family centered services that help individuals navigate life’s journey with dignity, comfort and peace.
A career at VITAS means joining nearly 12,000 professionals who bring purpose, expertise and heart to their work every day. Our teams care for patients and families during meaningful moments, supported by a culture that values empathy, collaboration, and professional growth. VITAS was named a 2025 Top Workplace in Healthcare, reflecting our commitment to creating an environment where people feel supported, respected and inspired to grow.
We take care of each other the same way we care for our patients. Team members receive mentoring, resources and flexibility that allow them to do what is right at the bedside. You will be trusted as an expert in your field and valued for the impact you make. At VITAS, your work strengthens a mission that honors life, supports families and brings comfort when it matters most.
If you are driven by purpose and motivated by compassion, you will find a meaningful career here. Join a team that believes every moment matters, and every role contributes to the care we provide.