Medical Social Worker - NBGW Addiction Medicine (Full Time, Days)

NorthBay Healthcare Corporation•Fairfield, CA

13d•Onsite

About The Position

NorthBay Health is seeking a Medical Social Worker to join our team in Fairfield, CA, supporting our inpatient hospital units and broader care coordination efforts. This role is essential in improving patient outcomes through clinical intervention, education, and continuity of care across both inpatient and outpatient settings. This role plays a key part in identifying patients at risk for readmission and ensuring seamless transitions across the continuum of care. The Medical Social Worker provides direct clinical social work service, counseling, discharge planning, and case management services to hospital patients and their families including biopsychosocial assessment and documentation of emotional, psychological, social, financial, environmental or follow-up referral needs. The role involves initiating and discontinuing 5150 custodial holds within NorthBay Medical Center and VacaValley Emergency Rooms, and inpatient units. The position works collaboratively with interdisciplinary healthcare staff, managing the psychosocially complex patient across the continuum of care by completing a clinical bio-psychosocial assessment, formulating a plan of care related to assessment of patient’s unique strengths and needs, developing a discharge plan, monitoring patient’s progress toward the goals of care, and identifying barriers to meeting estimated length of stay. The role also facilitates integration with community-based resources to optimize patient health and collaborates with community partners. Communication of appropriate information to care providers in the continuum of care and documentation of assessment and interventions in the patient’s medical record are key functions. Activities are consistent with System mission and values and in compliance with applicable regulations and System policies and procedures.

Requirements

Master of Social Work from a school of Social Work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
California BBS Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) CCS paneling required if working with the pediatric/Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) population.
Minimum of two year’s experience within the acute health care setting or the community health setting.
Strong clinical assessment skills.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills: verbal, written and listening.
Ability to convey instructions, directions and information appropriately and accurately.
Ability to work diplomatically with a wide variety of people.
Strong critical thinking skills- must be capable of independent judgment, and have strong clinical decision-making skills.
Ability to work independently with minimum direction.
Excellent follow-through skills.
Ability to organize a variety of concurrent activities, set realistic goals and objectives, plan ahead and meet deadlines without compromising quality.
Ability to direct the actions of others effectively in order to accomplish tasks and functions.
Ability to work effectively with diverse populations, including those with respect to age, culture, ethnicity, and gender.
Knowledge and understanding of individual, child, and family development, human behavior and communication, the influence of culture and values in social work practice, psychotherapy, case management, and the relation between social work practice and medicine.
Skilled at working with patients/families coping with loss and grief.
Knowledge of child, elder and dependent adult abuse and domestic violence reporting requirements and other significant legislation and laws regulating social work practice, e.g. Tarasoff, HIPAA, etc.
Ability to make appropriate interventions based on law, professional ethics and policy.
Knowledge of suicidal behavior, the ability to assess lethality, and the ability to develop appropriate treatment plan.
Knowledge of an ability to effectively use DSM V.
Knowledge of legal requirements and guidelines for providing psychiatric services including the appropriate use of 5150.
Ability to successfully manage conflict.
Basic proficiency with word processing required.
Demonstrates the NorthBay Way. The NorthBay Way is a set of value-based behaviors that are to be consistently demonstrated and role modeled by all employees that work at NorthBay Healthcare. The NorthBay Way principles consist of Caring, Communication, Collaboration, and Competence.
Effective care-giving and advocacy skills for diverse clients essential.
Ability to build and maintain constructive relationships with team members, external service providers, System managers, and department staff – often within the context of competing interests – essential.
Demonstrates respect for others perspectives.
Attendance is an essential function of the job.
Involves some standing, walking, stooping, bending, twisting, periods of sitting and use of computer keyboard throughout the workday.
Transportation available to cover referrals when other hospital needs coverage.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Cerner, and Power Point preferred.
Knowledge of acute care, subacute care, long-term care, home care, hospice interventions, rehabilitation options, County mental health services, and other community resources and requirements- strongly preferred.
Ability to conceptualize clinical situations and demonstrate application of theory in case management and psychotherapeutic responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Performs comprehensive psychosocial evaluations which include the collection of pertinent information: presenting problems, history of present illness, medical history, psychosocial history, mental status evaluation and diagnosis, consistent with department policies and procedures.
Ability to initiate or discontinue 5150 custodial holds within NorthBay Medical Center and VacaValley Emergency Rooms, and inpatient units.
Partners with the physicians, nurses, and other team members to establish, document, implement and evaluate a plan of care based on the patient’s unique health strengths and needs.
Brings clinical assessment skills; acute, long term, and community health expertise; learning theory; and multidisciplinary team expertise to the interdisciplinary team.
Monitors progress of the plan of care and communicates any changes with care team.
Develops a discharge plan for case load as designated by team including arranging for placement, home care and community resources.
Manages the psychosocially complex patient and their family across the continuum of care.
Provides integrated – mind, body, spirit – service to the patient and family through a mutually agreed upon plan of care and patient advocate relationship.
Supports System processes related to the health management of patients across the continuum of care, e.g. QI and/or clinical practice team membership, clinical research, quality monitoring, community networking.
Assesses/reassesses needs of patients/families and conceptualizes problem situations within social work scope of service using appropriate age-related skills.
Develops and maintains a collaborative relationship with Solano County Behavioral Health (County Hospital Liaison; Psychiatric Emergency Team).
Assists with the coordination and placement of 5150 patients utilizing Solano County Behavioral Health resources and/or All-Access Transfer Center resources.
Provides direct clinical social work services and counseling to patients and their families.
Interprets social, psychological, emotional, financial and family issues for attending physicians and other health care team members.
Completes documentation required in patient’s medical record on department forms and in Cerner.
Develops and provides in-services as requested.
Functions as a community liaison as assigned, working with Solano County Behavioral Health and related resources to help meet patient needs.
Identifies and applies knowledge of legal mandates such as scope of practice, privileged communication, confidentiality, reporting requirements, professional conduct and other mandates.
Demonstrates continued enhancement of clinical professional skills.
Complies with department and hospital policies and procedures.
Demonstrates commitment to quality of service.
Supports organization goals to provide the best/optimal care to our patients and families, and community to our highest customer satisfaction.
Performs other duties as assigned.