Social Services and Activities Designee

Essential Duties, Functions, and Responsibilities

• Develops, coordinates, implements, and evaluates individualized therapeutic activity programs based upon each patient's comprehensive assessment, physician orders, interests, abilities, limitations, cultural background, and personal preferences.
• Meets with the patient and family, when appropriate, prior to Swing Bed admission or within seventy-two (72) hours after admission to evaluate recreational interests, hobbies, routines, social history, functional abilities, and psychosocial needs.
• Maintains individualized activity documentation for each patient.
• Develops and maintains a Monthly Activities Calendar offering a variety of meaningful recreational, educational, spiritual, therapeutic, social, cognitive, and leisure activities.
• Encourages patient participation while respecting each patient's right to refuse activities.
• Provides individualized bedside activities for patients unable to attend group activities.
• Coordinates activities with Nursing, Rehabilitation Services, Dietary, Respiratory Therapy, and other departments to maximize participation while minimizing disruption of treatments and therapies.
• Assists patients in maintaining interest in daily living and community involvement.
• Documents participation, patient response, progress toward goals, refusals, and interventions according to hospital policy.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of activities and modifies programming as patient needs change.
• Maintains activity equipment, supplies, and activity areas in a clean, safe, and organized manner.
• Orders, inventories, and maintains activity supplies while utilizing available resources responsibly.
• Maintains patient dignity, privacy, individuality, independence, and patient rights at all times.

Social Services

• Affords social services that promote each patient's highest level of psychosocial well-being.
• Assists in providing social services that promote each patient's highest level of psychosocial well-being.
• Participates in interdisciplinary care planning meetings and discharge planning conferences.
• Maintains communication with patients' families or designated representatives, with patient permission, regarding changes in condition, goals of care, discharge planning, and participation in care conferences.
• Assists staff in educating patients and designated decision-makers regarding health status, available treatment options, patient rights, and healthcare choices.
• Assists patients in obtaining adaptive equipment, mobility devices, communication devices, clothing, personal belongings, and other needed items.
• Coordinates referrals to community agencies and outside resources including home health agencies, hospice, transportation services, durable medical equipment providers, talking book services, absentee voting assistance, and other available community resources.
• Aids patients in obtaining available financial assistance, community benefits, legal referrals, advance directives, pension resources, funeral preplanning referrals, and other community services as appropriate.
• Coordinates discharge planning activities including arranging home health services, community resources, equipment, transfers to other healthcare facilities, placement on waiting lists, and other services necessary for safe discharge.
• Aids patients in identifying how they wish healthcare decisions to be made and whether they desire family or designated representatives to participate in decision-making.
• Identifies services and resources that address each patient's physical, emotional, social, and psychosocial needs.
• Aids patients and families coping with grief, loss, illness, and adjustment to changes in health status.
• Aids patients in obtaining dental care, denture services, podiatry services, vision care, hearing services, mobility equipment, adaptive equipment, and assistive eating devices as needed.
• Serves as a patient advocate while protecting confidentiality and patient rights in accordance with HIPAA and hospital policy.

Care Planning

• Participates as a member of the interdisciplinary healthcare team.
• Aids in the completion of the Comprehensive Assessment.
• Aids in the development, implementation, and evaluation of individualized care plans.
• Attends interdisciplinary care conferences.
• Aids in discharge planning beginning upon admission.
• Communicates patient concerns and psychosocial needs to the interdisciplinary team.
• Documents interventions and patient outcomes according to hospital policy.

Regulatory Compliance

• Performs duties in compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation, Kansas Department of Health and Environment regulations, Swing Bed Program requirements, and hospital policies.
• Maintains accurate documentation supporting activity participation, social services interventions, assessments, and discharge planning.
• Participates in Quality Improvement activities.
• Maintains confidentiality of patient information.
• Promotes patient rights and person-centered care.
• Attends mandatory hospital education, department meetings, competency training, and continuing education programs.