Social Worker, Case Management - Full Time

Mercyhealth•Riverside, IL

About The Position

The Case Management Social Worker coordinates and facilitates patient care activities to improve continuity of care across the health care continuum, promote appropriate use of resources, and contribute to patient satisfaction and outcomes. The role provides services and support to patients and families referred to Social Services or identified through case finding, and provides discharge planning as needed. The position provides psychosocial assessment and intervention, facilitates referrals to community resources, and develops individualized treatment and continuing-care plans. It assesses transitional planning needs, including discharge barriers, family and social supports, self-care capacity, adaptive abilities, and financial resources. The social worker educates and supports patients and families, assists with legal matters within scope of practice, reviews and helps complete advance directives, and coordinates with physicians and multidisciplinary teams to uphold patient self-determination. The role documents care plans and progress in the medical record, provides crisis intervention, reports suspected child or elder abuse as required, and liaises with county officials and community services. It maintains knowledge of community resources, payer and reimbursement practices, and regulations; negotiates care issues; supports customer satisfaction; monitors readmissions and discharge plans; follows up with patients as needed; and helps identify avoidable days for organizational tracking. Schedule: Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week, day shift. Weekend and holiday on-call availability may be assigned. On-call staff must be accessible by pager or cell phone and respond promptly to pages. The role works independently with minimal guidance; assignments are generally defined by expected results and due dates, with only general procedures available. Mercyhealth is an integrated health system serving northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, with seven hospitals, 85 primary and specialty clinics, and more than 7,500 professionals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in social work (BSW or equivalent).
LSW or LCSW in the state of practice.
One to two years of related experience and/or training in an acute care setting is desirable.
Skilled use of voicemail and phone features.
Ability to use available technology for language interpretation.
Expert knowledge of the Allscripts Care Management program and Epic EMR.
Ability to use Microsoft Outlook and basic knowledge of Excel and Word.
Ability to toggle between computer applications.
Ability to work independently with minimal guidance.
For assigned on-call hours, accessibility by pager or cell phone and ability to respond promptly to pages by phone.

Nice To Haves

Case Management Certification (ACMA) preferred.
One to two years of related experience and/or training in an acute care setting is desirable.

Responsibilities

Provide psychosocial assessments and interventions and refer hospital patients to community resources.
Develop and implement psychosocial treatment plans, including crisis intervention and grief and bereavement services when appropriate.
Assess patients’ transitional planning needs within prescribed time frames, including discharge barriers, support systems, self-care capacity, adaptive abilities, and financial resources.
Develop individualized, patient-focused plans to meet continuing care needs.
Educate patients and families about available resources and provide support concerning adaptation to diagnoses, illness, treatment, and life situations.
Assist with legal issues within scope of practice, including powers of attorney for health care, guardianship, patient rights, and adoption.
Review advance directives and help patients complete new documents.
Communicate with physicians, patients, families, and multidisciplinary teams to support patients’ right to self-determination.
Maintain knowledge of community resources and help strengthen patients’ support networks.
Document plans of care, interventions, and progress toward goals in the medical record accurately and promptly.
Provide crisis intervention services in the hospital setting within scope of practice.
Report child or elder abuse to local authorities as required by law.
Liaise with county officials regarding patients involved with protective services, aging, developmental disabilities, domestic violence, mental health services, and economic support.
Maintain current knowledge of payer and reimbursement practices and regulations affecting care plans.
Negotiate care issues, including indigent-care issues and resource availability.
Promote customer satisfaction and intervene at critical service moments.
Monitor inpatient readmissions for potentially failed discharge plans or need for specialized intervention.
Provide patient follow-up as needed.
Help identify avoidable-day information for organizational tracking and trending.
Be available for assigned weekend and holiday on-call work and respond promptly to pages.