Social Worker-Palliative (69331)

“Sanitas is a global healthcare organization expanding across the United States. Our services include primary care, urgent care, nutrition, lab, diagnostic, health care education and resources for our patients. We strive to attract professionals who believe in our mission, vision and are dedicated to the service of our patients and their families creating a memorable experience through compassion, respect, and kindness.”

Job Summary

This is a professional social work position with the responsibility to independently conduct psycho/social assessment/evaluations; participate in a professional team review of patient care; provide casework and group work for patients and their families; identify community resources and assist patients and their families in connecting to these resources. This individual serves as a member of a multidisciplinary patient care team with liaison responsibilities with staff members of community organizations and other healthcare organizations. This position reports to the Program Director of Palliative Medicine and the Medical Director of Palliative Medicine and Hospice.

Essential Job Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Social Workers (SW) provide psychosocial assessments, early interventions and support for people going through all kinds of difficulties in life by helping patients develop skills to cope with the impact of illness.

• Assesses patient/family psychosocial issues, which include an assessment of a patient’s environment, spiritual resources, coping skills and financial troubles
• Identifies in conjunction with other providers or team members, behavioral health, cultural, family, and social problems and their severity and interrelatedness to the medical situation.
• Assesses the caregiver strengths/weaknesses with a focus on methods to resolve issues
• Identifies and monitors caregiver and family claudication and defines intervention strategies to reduce the overload
• Effectively employs counseling and problem-solving skills to assist patients and families in understanding and compliance with a plan of intervention with short- and long-term goals and aligned with the medical treatment.
• Participates in the care of ACP program members, through multidimensional evaluation and care plans that include patients and families counseling.
• Use therapeutic techniques to help patients and families participate in healthcare decision-making and maintain good mental health during difficult medical journeys.
• Provide or facilitate in-clinic or outside referrals to psychosocial services as clinically indicated
• Guides clinical staff on how to manage psychosocial and behavioral health issues. 
• Patient and family crisis management.
• Maintains complete and accurate health records for each patient in accordance with policies and procedures.
• Manages prudent judgment when documenting in the medical records, paying special attention to confidentiality, privacy and information release  
• Shares social work assessments, goals, and plans of intervention with the staff to facilitate patient adjustment to current situations and to support patients and their families.
• Connects the program and patients with community networks. Interact with community services to promote a mutual (health and community) understanding of needs
• Adjusts work schedule as needed to meet the needs of the patients and families.
• Assumes responsibility for personal growth. Develops, maintains, and upgrades professional knowledge and practice skills through attendance at seminars, conferences and participation in continuing education. 
• Maintains current knowledge of community agencies and support services and makes them available for other staff members.
• Keeps informed of eligibility requirements for various services, including but not limited to Medicare and Medicaid regulations.
• Actively participates in meetings and committees preparing the pertinent information for the adequate development of these spaces and communicating challenges and improvement plans.
• Pursues knowledge of palliative care and its benefit to patients and families; attends conferences and seeks out learning; pursues advanced certification in palliative care social work.
• Optimizes outcomes and patient and family wellbeing through implementation of and or integration with volunteering networks
• Identifies and reports to leadership immediately any concerns or issues that places the team, patient or caregiver at risk.
• Perform duties autonomously by proper task scheduling to meet workload expectations.
• Fulfills with other assignments related to the role according to background and capabilities
• Maintain knowledge of and compliance with current state/federal rules and regulations for professional services.  
• Complies with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements in accordance with federal, state, and organizational policies.