Summary:

The Social Worker provides psychosocial assessments and treatment recommendations, as well as discharge planning to and consultation about patients and families to assist them and the health care team in coping with patient's hospitalization, illness, diagnosis, treatment, and/or life situation, including emotional, mental, and substance abuse disorders; facilitates transfers to other acute care hospital settings or skilled nursing facilities.

Responsibilities:

Provides psychosocial assessments of patients to identify emotional, social, psychological, and environmental strengths and problems related to their diagnosis, illness, treatment, and/or life situation; completes high risk screenings and assists in the identification, management and treatment of victims of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, rape, etc. and those requiring crisis intervention; takes, reviews, evaluates and prioritizes written and oral referrals. Provides education to patients and families around issues related to adaptation to the patient's diagnosis, illness, treatment and/or life situation; utilizes a working knowledge of relevant medical/legal issues that impact on patient care (e.g., advance directives, child and elder abuse, mental illness, end of life issues, etc.) to make recommendations and support the health-care team, patients, and families. Serves as a member of the multidisciplinary health care team; participates in multi-disciplinary health care teams and provide leadership in representing clinical social work perspective/liaison with patient and family; works closely the Care Coordination RN to coordinate care of patient; serves as liaison with community agencies and resources; provides consultative services to health care team members within scope of care definitions as needed. Proactively identifies the needs for and conducts family meetings that result in comfort, decisions and other important outcomes; serves as the lead in obtaining charity and financial resources, legal guardianship, adoptions, psychiatric referrals, competency determinations, palliative care issues, and other issues. Partners with patients and families to identify needs to develop and implement a short-term treatment plan, (i.e., establishing social service goals for alleviating problems, providing supportive/ crisis counseling, assisting the patient and family in problem solving, and making community referrals); coordinates discharge planning by utilizing community resources to assist patients in having the highest possible quality of life within the patient's capacity and at the appropriate level of care upon discharge; links patients to appropriate services upon discharge; documents assessment, plan, interactions, and interventions according to departmental, hospital and/or health system guidelines and standards. Assists the multi-disciplinary health care team in ensuring excellent patient care services, leads quality improvement initiatives, and links team efforts with other hospital departments and with outpatient and community services. Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 8-hours, Days, Monday through Friday

Physical Requirements and working conditions for this position will be provided to you upon interview.