Description

Purpose:
The Senior Social Worker is responsible for providing complete psychosocial assessments, crisis intervention, individual, family, group, bereavement, and end-of-life counseling, and timely and appropriate discharge planning based on known or anticipated needs. Provides consultation to staff on care planning and resources.

Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate the ability to identify, assess, counsel, and effectively intervene with medically and psychosocially complex patients with the ability to understand complex dynamics related to the clinical situation.
• Successfully utilize therapeutic counseling methods such as crisis intervention, psychosocial support, brief goal-directed therapy, CISM, and/or other appropriate therapeutic methods that may be appropriate to the clinical situation.
• Complete a psychosocial assessment that includes social, economic, cultural, age-related, and behavioral factors, history of the child, elder or domestic abuse, prior psychiatric or substance abuse treatment, family and social support systems, and all other available resources as appropriate to the clinical situation.
• Collaborate effectively with the healthcare team, patients and families, and relevant community resources to develop and implement an individualized plan of care.
• Continue to monitor and evaluate the plan of care, options, and available services throughout the healthcare setting to effectively meet the patient and family's needs. Reassess the plan of care as status changes or at a minimum of every 3 days.
• Maintain extensive knowledge of federal, state, and local assistance programs and community resources that affect patient needs.
• Demonstrates expertise in accessing social systems by providing resource-specific information to patients and families, initiating contact with appropriate resources, and facilitating the patient/family's ability to accept referrals.
• Educate and advocate for patients and families to enhance their ability to make informed decisions regarding medical care, discharge planning, advance directives, and end-of-life care including actively participating in the guardianship process when appropriate.
• Demonstrate knowledge of reimbursement systems, the ability to educate patients and families regarding payer requirements/coverage for post-acute care services, and the ability to effectively advocate on behalf of the patient to obtain authorizations for continued care as appropriate.
• Provides accurate, timely, and appropriate documentation of all social work interventions in the medical record per regulatory policies and procedures.
• Demonstrate appropriate professional practice, maintaining respect for confidentiality and freedom of choice as outlined by the Code of Ethics by the National Association of Social Workers as well as the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors.
• Acts as a mentor to social work students and/or serves as a field instructor to MSW students.
• Develops population-specific clinical expertise in the area of practice.
• Represents the discipline of social work on department & hospital committees of interest.
• Takes a leadership role in teaching, training, or providing in-service education to both social work and non-social work staff within the organization as well as externally to other organizations or groups
• Represents the discipline of social work on department & hospital committees of interest.
• Prior performance appraisal at the Solid, Strong, Good Performer level.

Qualifications

• Master's degree from the school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education is Required
• Two (2) years of social work experience in a hospital, outpatient clinic, medical rehabilitation center, or mental health program required

This position is sign-on bonus eligible: $6,000 with a 2-year commitment.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:
SW Required.

• Licensed Social Worker (LSW)
• Act 34


• UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran

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