Medical Social Worker (Geriatrics)

Essential Job Functions

• Assesses patients using screening tools and clinical interview regarding their psycho-social factors and mental health needs as it relates to achieving and maintaining patient’s optimum health and wellness.
• Provides advanced problem solving, refers patients to community agencies/resources to address needs, and thoroughly documents assessments and services provided and bills appropriately for encounters.
• Develops, implements and assesses continuing care plans to support patient’s health and wellness, in coordination with psychiatrists and therapists as applicable, with awareness of social support system deficits and barriers.
• Intervenes with patients and their family/support system to alleviate barriers to health.
• Advocates, educates and facilitates resolution of patient ethical and legal issues, such as advance directives, end-of-life decisions, guardianship, etc.
• Brokers with community agencies to access services to meet patient’s psychosocial needs.
• Cross-coordinates care across interdisciplinary team of providers. Provides education and fosters understanding by providers and staff of social influencers of health and the challenges these create to patient wellness.
• Actively participates in ongoing trainings to ensure provision of care considering age, developmental, socioeconomic, gender identity, cultural, literacy, language barriers, spiritual, and other diversity circumstances.
• Maintains established productivity and quality standards; assumes additional responsibilities and performs work within position licensure, as required.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of legal issues impacting patients, such as divorce and custody laws, child/adult abuse reporting, duty to warn, recipient rights, commitment of inpatient hospitalization and other relevant laws/processes.

Organizational Expectations

• Creates a positive, professional, service-oriented work environment for staff, patients and family members by supporting the mission and values of Trinity Health Medical Group.
• Works effectively as a member of the Medical Social Work team and the Behavioral Health Division team.
• Assumes responsibility for performance of job duties in the safest possible manner, to assure personal safety and that of coworkers, and to report all preventable hazards and unsafe practices immediately to management.
• Serves as a role model by demonstrating exceptional ability and willingness to take on new and additional responsibilities. Embraces new ideas and respects cultural differences. Uses resources efficiently.
• Responsible for ongoing professional development – maintains appropriate licensure/certification and continuing education credentials, participates in available learning opportunities.

Essential Qualifications

• EDUCATION: Master’s degree in social work from a school accredited by the Council of Social Work Education.
• CREDENTIALS/LICENSURE: Valid, unrestricted license to practice clinical social work in the State of Michigan.
• MINIMUM EXPERIENCE: Minimum of 1 year experience in social work setting with vulnerable populations. Preferred crisis intervention and medical setting experience.