INTRADEPARTMENTAL ONLY - Lead Medical Social Worker - 40 hrs/wk.

ONLY ASSOCIATES CURRENTLY EMPLOYED WITHIN THIS DEPARTMENT WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS INTRADEPARTMENTAL POSTING.

PURPOSE OF THIS POSITION

The purpose of the role of Lead Medical Social Worker is to serve as the first resource for routine questions, workflow concerns and challenging situations as needed, as well as to develop, implement and evaluate an organized inpatient social work service for pediatric and adult hospitalized patients under the direction of the attending provider. The Medical Social Worker will assist in identifying and addressing the physical and psychosocial needs of patients to achieve an optimal level of health, both during hospitalization and after discharge.

JOB DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Duty 1: Serves as the first resource for routine questions and workflow concerns. Assists with challenging situations when patient workload permits. Supports discharge-barrier resolution and consistent team communication. Identifies recurring concerns and improvement opportunities. Assists with departmental data collection and quality initiatives. Escalates unresolved, significant, safety, compliance, or personnel concerns to management.

Duty 2: Collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to assess patient needs, confers with patients and families to determine an effective plan of care, and documents the physical and psychosocial needs and plan in the electronic medical record.

Duty 3: Actively participates in interdisciplinary rounds to identify and communicates physical and psychosocial needs that will require intervention during and after hospitalization. Communicates identified patient needs with associates, physicians, and outside referral services to enhance continuity of care and documents psychosocial assessment in the electronic medical record.

Duty 4: Participates in various committees and meetings, as assigned, to contribute information regarding transitions of care and utilization of care resources for the purpose of improving patient care and outcomes.

Duty 5: Addresses the safety of patients by reporting suspicions of abuse and neglect to Protective Services.

Duty 6: Confers with patients and families as indicated to present options toward enhancing the patient’s well-being.

Duty 7: On an ongoing basis, helps to maintain accurate information about provider agencies and community resources to better assist with appropriate linkages of patients and families to these services.

Duty 8: As needed, implements and leads process improvement to continually enhance quality of services provided.

Duty 9: Ensures after hour coverage for emergent care plan needs and provides a handoff of their cases to ensure that all members of the interdisciplinary team are aware of the care plan during hours that is not providing coverage.

Duty 10: Directly communicates ongoing needs of their patients with the receiving party (family, facility or agency) and hands off the care to that party to ensure safe, smooth and sustainable transitions of care.

Duty 11: When it is not possible to hand off care to a receiving party, follows up with patients who have left the acute care setting who are identified as high risk to ensure the transitional plan of care was successful.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Current Ohio license (LSW or LISW)
• Positive service-oriented interpersonal and communication skills required.
• Individual must demonstrate the ability to collaborate with interdisciplinary team, patients, families, and external organizations/agencies in complex problem-solving, communication and planning.
• Individual must be able to use the computer for documentation in the electronic medical record and demonstrate the ability to document in a timely manner.
• Possesses knowledge/experience with care improvement processes and resource utilization/coordination strategies.
• Possesses knowledge and skill in coordinating and managing patient cases across the continuum.
• Individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide a smooth, safe and sustainable transitional care plan for patients of all ages. The individual must demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient status. Must be able to interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient’s requirements relative to their age-specific needs and to provide the care needed as described in the area’s policies and procedures.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 4+ years of social work experience
• Healthcare experience

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

This position requires a full range of body motion with intermittent walking, lifting, bending, climbing, squatting, kneeling, twisting, sitting and standing. The associate must be able to lift ten pounds. The individual must have corrected vision and hearing in the normal range to provide efficient patient care. Individual must have excellent verbal skills to communicate with patients, physicians and co-workers. The associate must have excellent eye-hand coordination to grasp, push, and pull and have fine finger manipulation.

This position is classified “at risk” for possible occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens (HBV, HIV, etc.)