Facility Master Social Worker - MSW

Fresenius Medical Care•Hartsville, SC

About The Position

Provides psychosocial services to patients treated by the facility, including in-center and home dialysis patients where applicable, using social work theory and accepted methods of social work practice. Works with the healthcare team to promote positive adjustment, rehabilitation, and improved quality of life. In collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, informs, educates, and supports staff in understanding the emotional, psychological, and behavioral impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on patients and families. Supports quality indicators, outcomes, quality assessment and improvement activities, patient satisfaction, and quality of life initiatives. The role includes supervisory responsibilities for assigned supervisees, including monitoring the quality and scope of counseling, reviewing assessments and treatment decisions, providing feedback, addressing clinical dynamics, ensuring regulatory compliance, reviewing records, and observing or reviewing recordings with client consent. As part of the interdisciplinary team, assesses patients’ psychosocial status and needs, participates in care planning, provides counseling and education, supports adjustment to dialysis, connects patients with community resources, and assists with advance-care planning and informed decisions about DNR status. The Social Worker documents services and interventions, contributes to quality reviews and improvement activities, and educates patients and families about kidney disease, treatment options, transplant referrals, support services, patient rights, and facility policies. The position also supports patient admission and continuity of care, helps address insurance and financial assistance questions, collaborates with coordinators, may assist with hiring when requested, maintains patient resource lists, trains staff on psychosocial topics, participates in team huddles, and follows applicable caseload guidelines. Travel may be required when multiple facilities are involved.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Social Work.
State-specific licensure required.
2–5 years of related experience.

Responsibilities

Supervise counseling practice as applicable by monitoring supervisees’ work, providing feedback, addressing clinical dynamics, ensuring regulatory compliance, reviewing records, and observing or reviewing recordings with client consent.
Assess patients’ psychosocial status, strengths, and needs as part of comprehensive patient assessment.
Collaborate with patients and the healthcare team on care planning and interventions to support rehabilitation, treatment goals, and quality of life.
Use patient education programs, social work methods, focused interventions, and quality-of-life measures in assessment and care planning.
Monitor patients’ adjustment to dialysis and provide interventions to support psychosocial status and quality of life.
Provide supportive counseling within the scope of clinical training and state licensure, and provide goal-directed counseling to patients seeking transplantation.
Refer patients to community resources, including home health services and vocational or educational rehabilitation programs.
Assess awareness of advance directives, provide forms and information, and facilitate discussions with the healthcare team and family or support persons as needed.
Participate with the physician and nurse in discussions of patient DNR status to support informed decisions.
Document interactions and interventions and comply with applicable social work and patient-function policies.
Provide psychosocial support and focused interventions addressing non-adherence, quality outcomes, and quality-of-life concerns.
Participate in monthly quality review meetings and report on adherence, missed or shortened treatments, quality-of-life trends, and service recovery.
Assess patients’ kidney-disease knowledge and barriers to adherence, and provide tailored education with the patient, family, and healthcare team.
Provide information about treatment modalities, facilitate transplant referrals, and collaborate on transplant waitlist management.
Educate patients and families about psychosocial issues related to ESRD and available support services.
Review patient rights, responsibilities, grievance information, and facility policies with patients or their representatives.
Collaborate with the team on quality assessment and improvement activities.
Review admission-related rights, grievance, nondiscrimination, and DNR materials as applicable, and address immediate needs or concerns.
Support referral and admission processes, including scheduling needs that may affect adherence and adjustment.
Interview patients requesting discharge to identify concerns and share them with operational leadership.
Liaise with Insurance Coordinators on patient insurance issues and changes in status affecting coverage.
Provide information and education about dialysis payment options and financial assistance in collaboration with Financial Coordinators.
Refer treatment-billing questions or concerns to the patient billing solutions department.
Assist with interviews and hiring decisions when requested by the SW Manager or Senior Manager.
Maintain updated patient resource lists with administrative support staff.
Provide staff training on psychosocial topics as needed.
Participate in weekly team huddles and discuss urgent patient issues with staff.
Follow caseload guidelines based on state regulatory requirements.
Perform other related duties as assigned.