Social Worker

About the role

The Social Worker (SW) plays a crucial role in providing and coordinating a wide range of social services including psychosocial support to patients and their families. They represent the company professionally at all times through the care delivered and services provided to all clients.

Responsibilities

• Performs and documents psychosocial assessment.
• Empowers patient/families to negotiate with resource providers and make decisions on their own behalf.
• Aids other clinical staff in understanding family dynamics and significant social and emotional factors related to health problems.
• Maintains documentation in a timely, comprehensive, accurate, legible, clear manner.
• Collaborates with other professionals to ensure quality care and continuity of patient/family care.
• Participates in interdisciplinary group (IDG) meetings and develops and updates the Plan of Care.
• Facilitates understanding of social services and bereavement aspects of care.
• Evaluates bereavement needs and makes condolence calls.
• Provides emotional support for patients and families facing serious illness.
• Coordinates educational and outreach services relevant to the social services-palliative care interface.
• Assists the palliative care team and/or directly facilitates patient-family meetings for goal setting and advance care planning.
• Shares joint responsibility with other clinicians and volunteers to provide care to patients and families including psychosocial support, advanced directive information, development of Plan of Care, and other social services.
• Attends and participates in Interdisciplinary Group (IDG) meetings; assists in developing and updating the Plan of Care; facilitates understanding of social services and bereavement aspects of care, and provides team with goals and interventions for patient/family care.
• Evaluates bereavement needs including making condolence calls, evaluating risk and coordinating the Plan Care with Bereavement staff.
• Facilitates bereavement and holiday support groups for children and adults.
• Maintains bereavement documentation in a manner reflecting timeliness, completeness, accuracy, legibility, clarity of goal, evaluation, plan, and intervention.
• Recruits volunteers through community networking activities and marketing efforts.
• Screens potential volunteers through intake calls and interviews, and in training.
• Trains, assigns, supervises and evaluates patient/family care volunteers as well as volunteers for Social Services/Bereavement, events, administrative support, and various other roles.
• Participates in the development and implementation of programs which enhance the morale and effectiveness of volunteers, volunteer newsletter, volunteer in-services, support programs and annual volunteer recognition.
• Participates in volunteer-related special events, committees and task force groups.
• Maintains records of volunteers, ensuring that all file requirements are met and kept current.
• Participates in interdisciplinary group (IDG) meetings; providing feedback about patients and family members and serves as a liaison between team members and volunteers.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or above in Social Work (CSWE accredited); SWs hired before 2009 who have degrees in other fields are grandfathered in; SWs hired before 4/21/2019 who have BSWs are grandfathered in; Bachelor’s degree may be considered depending on geographic area (Note: Home Health requires MSW).
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience including social work/counseling internship in health care or hospital setting.
• Familiarity with and working knowledge of the concepts and practices of both adult and pediatric patients: Hospice: death and dying Palliative: serious illness.
• Previous experience working with an EMR/EHR (Electronic Medical/Health Record) system.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and effectively handle the emotional stress of the workload.
• Able to remain calm, professional, trouble shoot and intervene with patient/family crisis situations.
• Able to demonstrate high ethical standards in areas of Hospice mission, confidentiality, sensitivity, and flexibility.
• Excellent communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills.
• Able to work in a team environment and intervene appropriately.
• Mobile Driver - Valid driver's license and automobile insurance per Company policy.
• Ability to travel to off-site locations.
• Ability to physically access any home, hospital, clinic, nursing home, and assisted living facility (i.e., navigate stairs, narrow stairs, narrow spaces, lack of air conditioning, etc.).

Competencies

• Satisfactorily complete competency requirements for this position.

Pay

$62,249.35 - $92,651.93

Schedule

8:00am - 5:00pm 5 days/week plus on call rotation week nights and weekends