Job Summary

The social worker provides professional services to patients and families, which facilitates the use of individual, public and private resources so that optimal functioning can occur for both the patient and the family. These core services include assessment of psychosocial functioning and capacities, counseling for care planning and decision-making, social work treatment and community resource planning. Social workers collaborate with many disciplines, programs, departments and organizations in the accomplishment of these duties.

Essential Functions

• Conducts Psychosocial Assessments for Adolescent, Adult, and Geriatric patients as well as neonatal, Infant, and Pediatric patients.
• Determines inter-relatedness of psychosocial factors and health status/disease process.
• Identifies emotional, social and financial needs of patient/family and provides assistance/referrals as appropriate.
• Identifies appropriate treatment plans and follows-up with discharge planning team.
• Acts as expert in the area of Social work. Assists Social Workers with problem cases.
• Provides emotional support to patient/family. Helps families/patients cope with illness, disability, and situations.
• Facilitates patient/family support groups (i.e. Cancer, Stroke and AIDS).
• Participates in interdisciplinary discharge planning process: conducts and documents proactive, concurrent discharge planning assessments.
• Implements discharge plans, i.e., setting up home health, transfers to other facilities, initial nursing home placements.
• Assists in Quality Improvement Initiative: monitor and trend re-admissions to the hospital.
• Manages high risk referrals: Performs discharge planning activities on newly diagnosed cancer patients, suspected abuse, adoptions, high-risk mothers, fetal demise, long-term acute placements, ER, Psych transfers, HIV/Aids and hospice patients.
• Assist Case Management to move patients to more appropriate level of care.
• Promotes effective communication and ensures continuity of care. Verbal communication with patients, families, hospital staff are always positive, accurate, supportive, and clearly understood.
• Maintains a supportive, collaborative partner-like relationship with nurses, physicians, and case management team.
• Consistently performs all social service function to meet department volume and quality standard. Effectively communicates to supervisor status of current workload daily.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Maintains regular and reliable attendance.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Social Work or Psychology required
• 2-4 years of experience in individual, group, and family therapies required

Licenses and Certifications

• LCSW- License Clinical Social Worker required
• BCLS - Basic Life Support obtained within 7 days of employment required

INDBH