Social Worker - Discharge Planning - Hickman Hospital - Care Navigation

ProMedica Toledo Hospital•Adrian, MI

8d•Onsite

About The Position

This role involves interviewing patients and their families to gather information about their home environment, relationships, health history, and personality. The Social Worker will explain the patient's background, psycho-social functioning, and needs to the medical staff and others to help plan a comprehensive care program. The position requires evaluating gathered data in relation to the medical plan of treatment and available social service programs to create a plan that offers maximum benefit to the patient, considering their age. The Social Worker will assist patients and families in understanding, accepting, and following medical recommendations in clear terms. This role frequently handles difficult and complex cases, working with the medical team for case management, discharge planning, and emotional/financial adjustment to illness. The Social Worker must demonstrate competence, awareness, and sensitivity to the physical, emotional, and psycho-social needs of patients from neonates through geriatrics. They will communicate family issues to other staff, participate in planning conferences, and coordinate discharge rounds weekly. Collaboration with other hospital programs and community agencies is essential. The role also involves preparing and maintaining required documentation, adhering to departmental policies, and potentially guiding the activities of other social workers. Ensuring patient safety in the environment and in communication is paramount. The position also involves participating in departmental and institutional quality improvement goals and serving on quality improvement teams. The Social Worker will act as a Customer Service Ambassador, working collaboratively with all levels and business units, serving as a role model for ProMedica's Guiding Principles, and maintaining patient confidentiality and rights. Representing the system in fostering positive relationships with external health agencies, organizations, and community groups is also a key aspect. Continuous professional and personal learning and development through various means are expected.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, RN, or related discipline.
Sufficient maturity and balance so as not to be upset by often difficult conditions (i.e., emotionally upsetting patients, issues related to death and dying, and issues of counter transference) with which he/she must work.
Interpersonal skills for dealing with patients or families, patient health care professionals, and agencies involved with providing services.
Physical ability to endure a fast, unpredictable pace, interacting with one person, a group or an agency throughout the hospital, nursing home, physician office campus or in the community.
Ability to use critical thinking and problem-solving methods.
Ability to understand people and why they behave as they do.
Ability to understand the interaction between systems, variability learning, and human behavior.
Ability to use computer and compile statistics.
Ability to communicate with medical staff, families, and patients both in person and via phone.
Handles crisis or emergency situations.
Minimum 2 years' experience in social services, discharge planning, or relevant field. (At least 1 year for relief position.)

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree
Experience in hospital acute care setting.

Responsibilities

Interviews patients and family members to obtain information about home environment, family, relationships, health history and patient’s personality.
Explains patient’s background, psycho-social functioning and needs to medical staff and others in participation with planning of a comprehensive care program for patients.
Evaluates data gathered in terms of the medical plan of treatment, available social service programs, and plans a pertinent program that will provide each patient with maximum benefit, considering age of patient.
Assist patients and families to understand, accept, and follow medical recommendations in terminology they will understand.
Regularly works with difficult and complex cases in coordination with the medical team for the purpose case management, discharge planning, and emotional and financial adjustment to illness services.
Demonstrates competence, awareness, and sensitivity to the physical, emotional, and psycho-social needs of neonates through geriatric aged patients.
Communicates family issues to other staff members involved in the patients’ care.
Participates in planning conferences, as needed.
Coordinates discharge rounds, weekly.
Collaborates with other hospital programs and community agencies with which patients of various ages and families are involved.
Prepares and maintains required documentation on each case.
Maintains established departmental policies, procedures, objectives, and safety standards.
May guide activities of part-time, student, or other social workers in their management of specific cases.
Provide for patient safety in environment and in communication with patients and families.
Performs any other job-related duties as assigned.
Participates in the departmental and institutional goals and objectives relative to quality improvement.
Serves on quality improvement teams as requested.
Works collaboratively with all levels and business units of LHA.
Serves as a role model for consistent demonstration of and advocacy for LHA’s Guiding Principles.
Demonstrates knowledge and respects patient, service provider, and organizational confidentiality procedures and protocols.
Maintains and protects patient’s rights.
Represents the system and its entities in fostering positive relationships with other health agencies, organizations, and community groups.
Maintains and improves professional and personal learning and development though literature, seminars, workshops, and affiliations.
Seeks and accepts education to learn new skill competencies, and maintain current competencies through educational programs, in-services, and meetings.