social services

Position Summary

the Social Worker position provides comprehensive, compassionate, clinical social work and discharge planning to patients and their families of a targeted patient population on a designated unit(s). In collaboration with physicians and the interprofessional health care team, this position sensitizes other health care providers to the social and emotional aspects of a patient's illness to facilitate efficient, quality care, and achievement of desired treatment outcomes. This position holds accountability for discharge planning and continuity of care, assuring that psychosocial issues are addressed and treated as needed across the continuum of care

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Communicates in an active, positive and effective manner to all health care team members and reports pertinent patient care and family data in a comprehensive and unbiased manner; listens and responds to the ideas of others. Uses therapeutic communication to establish a relationship with patients and families and communicates the discharge plan, facilitating transitions and hand-offs. Supports patients and families in clinical or ethical issues

• Uses patient and family-centered approach in collaboration with interprofessional health care team. Facilitates discharge planning activities for assigned patients and collaborates with the case manager and other members of the interprofessional health care team, as well as patient and family. Maintains ownership of the psychosocial component, assessments, diagnosis and treatment, of the discharge planning process on assigned units

• Serves as a unit-based participant for comprehensive case management activities including assessing patients and collaborating with team to identify at-risk patients, participating in daily Care Coordination Rounds, and identifying any barrier(s) of efficient patient throughput

• Uses knowledge of levels of care, working with patient and family, to ensure discharge disposition is to the appropriate level and facilitates transfers. Provides brief, goal-directed counseling services to assist patients/families to cope more effectively with the transition

• Completes full assessment identifying social determinants of health

• Completes timely and thorough assessment on all unfunded patients to identify community resources required for effective transition and able to utilize alternative resources to fill gaps in established community resources

• Provides timely, effiicient pertinent patient information to healthcare team when coordination with significant or intensive resources is necessary for effective discharge planning outcomes and decreased length of stay

• Performs other related duties as required or requested

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• 1 year of social work in a health care setting strongly preferred
• Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) or higher license in the State of Texas
• At least three (3) years of accounts receivable management experience in health care

• Must be able to communicate verbally and in writing in English

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Physical Demands – Office

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms and pull/push; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance and 51-100 pounds with assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus

Work Environment – Office

This job operates in a professional office environment with minimal exposure to dust, chemicals or noise. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Note

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.