Funeral Home Liaison

The Funeral Home Liaison serves as primary liaison between LiveOnNY and Medical Examiners and Funeral Service Professionals. The Funeral Home Liaison develops, implements, maintains and evaluates donation strategies within target markets to maximize the number of tissues recovered and transplanted.

The Funeral Home Liaison develops and maintains on-going relationships and collaborative partnerships to

improve communication, problem-solve, and formulate strategies to maximize tissue referrals, consent and

recoveries from these areas.

All services performed in this role must be conducted in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and oversight requirements, including but not limited to CMS, New York State, FDA, OPTN, and all applicable LiveOnNY policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and work instructions.

This exempt position requires the Funeral Home Liaison to devote full professional time, attention, and best efforts to LiveOnNY. The Funeral Home Liaison shall remain available to fulfill the position’s leadership and operational responsibilities inside and outside standard business hours as LiveOnNY’s needs dictate. The Funeral Home Liaison shall not undertake outside employment, consulting, or business activity, whether compensated or uncompensated, without advance written approval from the Chief Operating Officer in accordance with LiveOnNY’s Conflicts of Interest Policy.

· Proactively conducts follow-up calls with Medical Examiners/Coroners and Funeral Service professionals to discuss their experience with the organ and/or tissue donation process, solicit feedback, address questions or concerns, and identify recommendations for future donation cases.

· Ensures seamless, comprehensive, and collaborative customer service through timely and ongoing communication, presence, and visibility.

· Acts as the liaison to establish and maintain relationships and foster communication between LiveOnNY and Medical Examiners/Coroners and Funeral Service professionals throughout the service area.

· Provides time-sensitive support, including outside standard business hours when assigned or operationally necessary, in response to requests from organ and tissue donor coordinators, and contacts

Funeral Service professionals and/or Medical Examiners/Coroners by telephone to assist in resolving immediate challenges related to ongoing or pending tissue and/or organ donations.

· Provides liaison support, education, and consultation to organ and tissue donor staff concerning funeral preparation, visible changes to the body, and timely funeral arrangements. Clinical and recovery personnel retain responsibility for clinical decisions and recovery procedures.

· Proactively identifies opportunities to enhance donation. Develops and conducts education and awareness initiatives regarding organ and tissue donation for Medical Examiners/Coroners and Funeral Service professionals.

· Establishes relationships with Medical Examiners/Coroners and Funeral Service professionals through participation in service area events (e.g., New York State Funeral Directors Conference) and seminars.

· Seeks opportunities to engage and collaborate with partners through professional associations or groups to support advocacy and optimize donation opportunities.

· Submits routine reports to the Senior Director of Quality with recommendations for improvement in management of the organ and tissue donation process, based on feedback from Funeral Service professionals and Medical Examiners/Coroners.

· Supports the development and revision of LiveOnNY policies and procedures relating to Medical Examiners/Coroners and donation-related medical and legal issues by providing liaison information and recommendations for authorized review and approval. Provides liaison and consultative support to Funeral Service professionals regarding approved donation-related policies and practices, as appropriate.

· Supports LiveOnNY’s compliance with applicable New York laws and requirements pertaining to Medical Examiners/Coroners and promptly escalates identified concerns through appropriate organizational channels.

· Establishes systems to track and obtain autopsy reports for all organ and/or tissue donors as soon as possible after each donation.

Participates in continuous process improvement consistent with organization-wide expectations.

· Utilizes LiveOnNY electronic donor record systems and other communication systems and applications, and related documentation tools to manage workflow.

· Ensures accurate and timely data entry in accordance with LiveOnNY SOPs and regulatory standards.

· Maintains complete and accurate documentation of assigned liaison case activity.

· Performs assigned liaison responsibilities in accordance with applicable CMS, OPTN, NYS AGA, FDA, and LiveOnNY requirements.

· Participates in QAPI reviews, case reviews, audits, and performance improvement initiatives as assigned.

· Maintains confidentiality consistent with LiveOnNY policies and standards.

· Exhibits and maintains professionalism in high-stress and time-sensitive environments.

· Exercises sound professional judgment within assigned Medical Examiner/Coroner and Funeral Service liaison responsibilities.

· Immediately escalates complex or ambiguous clinical, regulatory, or ethical concerns to appropriate leadership without making clinical determinations.

Other duties may be assigned.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The Funeral Home Liaison shall keep GPS location services active on all LiveOnNY-issued, GPS-enabled mobile work devices during scheduled work hours and while performing assigned duties, in accordance with LiveOnNY’s GPS Tracking Policy, as amended or superseded by LiveOnNY from time to time. The Funeral Home Liaison shall not disable, tamper with, or interfere with those services.

LANGUAGE & READING SKILLS:

The Funeral Home Liaison must be able to read, understand, and apply written information relevant to the position; communicate clearly in writing and verbally; and respond appropriately to inquiries within the scope of assigned responsibilities.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

The Funeral Home Liaison must be able to perform and apply the calculations required for the position accurately.

REASONING ABILITY:

The Funeral Home Liaison must be able to identify problems, evaluate relevant information, exercise sound judgment, and reach conclusions within the scope of the position’s responsibilities.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

The Funeral Home Liaison must communicate and collaborate with LiveOnNY’s culturally diverse workforce and the communities it serves in accordance with LiveOnNY policies. The Funeral Home Liaison shall support quality, performance improvement, and the clinical and/or administrative goals applicable to the position.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The Funeral Home Liaison is based at LiveOnNY’s Corporate Office. Based on the responsibilities of the position, LiveOnNY may, at its sole discretion, direct the Funeral Home Liaison to travel to other locations within its Designated Service Area (DSA) to provide services.

· Bachelor’s degree in health science, healthcare administration, public health, mortuary science/funeral service, nursing, or a related field; or an Associate’s degree in mortuary science/funeral service, nursing, health science, or a related field with relevant professional experience. An equivalent combination of education and directly relevant professional experience may be considered.

· Minimum two years of relevant professional experience in funeral service, Medical Examiner/Coroner relations, organ or tissue donation, healthcare, partner relations, community engagement, or another comparable stakeholder-facing environment.

· Working knowledge of human anatomy and function sufficient to communicate effectively with Funeral Service professionals, Medical Examiners/Coroners, donation professionals, and internal stakeholders.

· Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective professional relationships; communicate sensitively in circumstances involving grieving families; exercise sound judgment and discretion; work collaboratively; use standard computer applications; and accurately manage detailed information and follow-up.

· New York State licensed funeral director.

· Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS) credential.

· Prior experience with an organ procurement organization, tissue donation program, Medical Examiner/Coroner office, funeral service organization, or comparable liaison/outreach role preferred.

· Regularly required to talk or hear.

· Frequently required to sit or stand.

· Occasionally required to walk; use hands to handle objects or controls; reach with hands and arms; and climb or balance.

· Occasionally required to lift or move up to 15 pounds.

· Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

· Uses reliable transportation in order to travel throughout LiveOnNY’s DSA and, when required, outside the DSA.

· Reasonable accommodation may be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Regarding any licensure, certification, or other credentials required or preferred by LiveOnNY, LiveOnNY requires they be maintained and current without any infractions or issues. The Funeral Home Liaison understands that the Funeral Home Liaison is responsible for maintaining all qualifications, licenses, certifications, competencies, and other requirements applicable to this position throughout the Funeral Home Liaison’s employment and for successfully completing all required education, training, competency assessments, and continuing education required by LiveOnNY.

The Funeral Home Liaison must maintain a residence within LiveOnNY’s DSA.

This role is designated as a full-time, corporate office-based position. The primary work location is the assigned LiveOnNY Corporate Office.

Because the essential duties of this position are performed in office, work from home and remote work are not standard arrangements for this position and are prohibited unless the COO grants an explicit exception through prior written authorization in accordance with LiveOnNY’s Work from Home and Remote Work Policy.

The Funeral Home Liaison shall utilize LiveOnNY-issued technology, equipment, property, information systems, communication systems, vehicles, mobile devices, credentials, and other organizational resources solely for authorized organizational purposes and in accordance with LiveOnNY policies. The Funeral Home Liaison shall use only LiveOnNY-issued equipment when performing work-related services or accessing LiveOnNY systems, data, or applications, regardless of work location.