Social Worker II - LCSW

About the Role

At Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, the Social Worker II LCSW (SW II) provides compassionate clinical social work, psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatment, and complex discharge planning to patients and families of a targeted population on designated units. In collaboration with physicians and the interprofessional healthcare team, the position sensitizes other providers to the social and emotional aspects of illness to facilitate efficient, high‑quality care and positive outcomes. The SW II uses case‑management skills to address social, financial, and psychological problems related to health conditions, shares joint accountability with case managers, and leads unit or departmental social work program development. This role also serves as a hospital‑wide service‑line leader for psychosocial issues, complex discharge planning, and population disease management.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work from an accredited university.
• Three (3) years of social services experience in a healthcare setting.
• Required LCSW – License Clinical Social Worker – State licensure (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation).
• FLSA status: Exempt.

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, assessed through ongoing evaluations.
• Proficient in speaking, reading, and writing English, especially for activities impacting patient or employee safety.
• Effective communication with patients, physicians, families, and co‑workers with a customer‑service focus.
• Knowledge of community resources, health‑care financial and payer issues, and eligibility for state, local and federal programs.
• Maintains competencies in social work functions including payor rules, psychosocial assessments, and discharge‑planning methods.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in interactions with physicians, payors, patients, and families.
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word).
• Critical thinking, collaboration, negotiation, mediation, time‑management, and prioritization skills.
• Adherence to NASW clinical practice standards for healthcare settings.
• Maintains professional contribution level as defined in the Career Path program.

People Essential Functions

• Role models positive, effective communication with all healthcare team members.
• Reports pertinent patient care and family data comprehensively and without bias.
• Uses therapeutic communication to establish relationships, convey discharge plans, and facilitate transitions.
• Supports patients and families with clinical or ethical issues.
• Provides staff education specific to patient populations and departmental processes.
• Acts as a preceptor and mentor to new employees.
• Identifies opportunities for professional growth of self and peers.

Service Essential Functions

• Leads comprehensive case‑management activities, including assessing high‑risk patients and guiding teams to identify at‑risk individuals.
• Participates in daily Care Coordination rounds and resolves barriers to efficient patient throughput.
• Conducts full psychosocial assessments using patient/family interviews, medical‑record review, and screening tools.
• Applies clinical expertise to determine need for case‑management or social‑work intervention.
• Manages conflict within psychosocial treatment plans, providing crisis intervention, brief individual, marital, family therapies, and group sessions.
• Maintains ownership of psychosocial components of discharge planning on assigned units.
• Assists with screening, identification, diagnosis, and treatment of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, mental‑health, and substance‑use issues.
• Establishes educational goals with patients and families, providing resources and post‑discharge planning.
• Educates physicians and interprofessional team members on goals of care and appropriate level of care for discharge.
• Provides brief, goal‑directed counseling to help patients/families cope with transitions.

Quality/Safety Essential Functions

• Documents patient screening, assessment, and reassessment promptly upon admission and as needed.
• Modifies care based on continuous evaluation, employing problem‑solving, critical thinking, and evidence‑based analysis.
• Considers emotional, social, and environmental factors influencing treatment plans.
• Reviews the overall patient picture for care facilitation and discharge‑planning opportunities.
• Collaborates with case managers to manage routine and emergent discharge situations, eliminating psychosocial barriers.
• Works with the interprofessional team on safety data to improve outcomes and ensure safe transitions through effective handoffs.

Finance Essential Functions

• Completes timely assessments of unfunded patients to identify community resources for effective transition.
• Utilizes knowledge of community resources and regulatory agencies (e.g., CPS/APS) to fill gaps.
• Guides cost‑effective, complex discharge planning, collaborating with case managers, patients, and families to reduce length of stay.