Social Worker (MSW)

About the role

The Hospice Medical Social Worker is a vital member of the interdisciplinary team, responsible for providing emotional, social, financial, and resource-based support to patients and families navigating serious illness and end-of-life care.

Responsibilities

• Provide social casework as an entity, where appropriate, to individuals and families receiving nursing or other services from the Agency
• Assess, when appropriate, a family's financial situation taking into consideration the patient's prognosis and medical needs, and referring to an Agency for financial assistance if indicated
• Interpret the medical situation to the referring Agency and generally facilitate the process of referral
• Respond to referrals for casework by Agency staff or professionals from outside the Agency providing service as appropriate
• Participate in Agency IDG team conferences identifying social problems, their severity, and their inter-relatedness to the medical situation, as well as assessing a family's strengths and weaknesses and discussing alternate methods of alleviating the situation
• Refer patients and families to community agencies with appropriate follow-up
• Participate in case conferences with other agencies
• Interpret social resources to staff and health services to special agencies
• Be responsible to ensure the use of the 4Ms (What Matters to the patient, Medications, Mentation, and Mobility) and provide Age-Friendly Care

Requirements

• Master's degree (MSW) from a school of Social Work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education
• Has a current Social Worker License in the state of practice in accordance with state licensure requirements
• Maintains a valid driver’s license and good driving record
• Proficiency in clinical skills
• Able to make sound professional clinical judgment
• Able to assess and document patient needs and formulate individualized patient care plans to meet those needs
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in personal computer use including email, clinical, word processing, and spreadsheet software

Preferred Knowledge, Skills And Experience

• Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker Certification-APHSW-C, through Social Work and Palliative Care Network
• Two years’ experience within hospice
• Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA), through Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration
• EMR experience