How To Become A Hospice Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hospice administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Bill McGinley

Hospice administrators work in nursing homes taking care of terminally ill patients. They oversee the general functioning of the establishment and manage day-to-day tasks to keep things running. They mediate between the patients, their families, and the medical staff in arranging the patients' care and making sure their life is as complete as possible.

Working in this position, it will be your job to make sure the services the hospice provides meet the patients' every need. You will take care of recruiting staff and supervise the daily duties of the personnel, creating schedules and overseeing shifts. You will manage the budget of the establishment, track expenses and arrange fundraising opportunities if necessary. You will make sure all equipment is well maintained and functional, and generally oversee the activities required to run the facility.

Having a college degree in health administration, public health, or a related area is usually required of people who take on this role. Nursing is also a common path to arrive at this position, but the most direct path perhaps is getting an MA in hospice administration. You need to act and think independently when doing this job. Efficient communication is a must. You need to be good at solving problems and organizing your time and technical skills will also come in handy when dealing with computers and records, which is a big part of the role. You can expect to earn something around $77,616 per year.

What general advice would you give to a hospice administrator?

Bill McGinley

President & CEO, American College of Health Care Administrators

LTC administrators should have at least a bachelor's degree in business or a healthcare-related field. A well-rounded internship that exposes the future administrator to all aspects of the operation is essential. Needed skills include business, marketing, finance, operations, management and leadership.
Post pandemic opportunities will be nationwide in this field with a greater need in rural areas.
Technology will continue to play a big role in the field. Computerized medical records, census management, and all clinical areas will continue to dominate. Online meetings are liable to continue as well, as employers realize that there is a savings to be gained by not having people travel to meetings and conferences.

ScoreHospice AdministratorUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $81,442

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.71%

Asian 7.51%

Black or African American 14.43%

Hispanic or Latino 13.36%

Unknown 4.24%

White 59.75%

Gender

female 75.20%

male 24.80%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hospice administrator

Explore hospice administrator education requirements

Most common hospice administrator degrees

Bachelor's

46.2 %

Associate

21.7 %

Master's

20.8 %

Start to develop specific hospice administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
Home Health	59.73%
Overall Management	21.57%
Quality Care	3.47%
QAPI	2.24%
Business Operations	1.85%

Complete relevant hospice administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hospice administrators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hospice administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hospice administrator resumes.

Research hospice administrator duties and responsibilities

Manage global security in WebSphere using LDAP authentication.
Plan and conduct staff meetings, QAPI meetings, and IDT meetings.
Initiate contracts with area nursing centers, hospitals, pharmacies and DME suppliers to meet the needs of agency hospice clients.
Lead and develop the technical strategy for improving architectural and design elements of SharePoint to enhance utilization and drive user functionality.

Prepare your hospice administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hospice administrator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hospice administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable hospice administrator resume templates

Build a professional hospice administrator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hospice administrator resume.