Social Worker (LSW) - Float, Full-Time, Days

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Chicago, IL

5d • $34 - $48

About The Position

The Social Worker LSW reflects Northwestern Medicine’s mission, vision, and values, follows its Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with applicable policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. The role provides psychosocial assessment and intervention, discharge planning, resource coordination, patient advocacy, education, and utilization-management support. The Social Worker collaborates with patients, families, physicians, payers, and the multidisciplinary healthcare team to establish and coordinate appropriate care plans and facilitate timely discharge.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Social Work from a school of Social Work accredited by CSWE.
• Illinois licensure as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW).
• Strong interpersonal skills to affect positive outcomes.
• Organizational skills to prioritize and manage an appropriate patient caseload while performing Social Worker functions.
• Self-direction in daily work.
• Analytical skills to independently collect, analyze, and interpret data; resolve problems requiring innovative solutions; and negotiate in sensitive situations.

Responsibilities

• Meet with patients and families to assess social, emotional, cultural, mental-status, environmental, and financial circumstances in conjunction with the interdisciplinary patient assessment.
• Recommend interventions based on patient needs, preferences, and mutually established goals.
• Provide psychosocial interventions related to illness and disability, informed decision-making and advance directives, treatment planning, hospital adjustment, treatment-plan compliance, post-hospital care, community-resource linkage, insurance and payment, psychiatric symptoms, chemical dependency, conflict resolution, and family or personal relationships affecting care.
• Assess outpatients’ physical environments and support systems to help prevent crises or hospitalization.
• Provide crisis intervention and protective services for people experiencing or at risk of abuse, neglect, assault, domestic violence, unsafe living conditions, impaired mental status, or homelessness.
• Manage discharge planning through placement coordination, resource utilization, and coordination of skilled home health care.
• Participate in discharge planning and coordinate, facilitate, and communicate the plan of care to physicians, the healthcare team, patients, and families.
• Screen new patients for medical necessity, funding source, and likely need for social work or discharge-planning services.
• Serve as the point person for discharge-planning needs, facilitating ongoing communication and collaborative decision-making, including multidisciplinary rounds and case conferences.
• Coordinate action plans to resolve barriers and identify, assess, and address post-hospital care needs early to support timely discharge.
• Coordinate and update discharge plans for patients transitioning to other acute hospitals, rehabilitation or extended-care facilities, sub-acute care, psychiatric or chemical-dependency care, home, or other living arrangements.
• Assess home-health-care needs with patients and families and develop an appropriate plan in collaboration with the physician.
• Maintain agreement on the care plan among the patient and family, physician, and payer.
• Collaborate with the multidisciplinary team throughout discharge planning and proactively identify and resolve discharge delays and obstacles.
• Use conflict-resolution skills and seek consultation or referrals from appropriate disciplines and departments to expedite discharge planning.
• Connect patients and families with community resources and advocate for patients who need help accessing information, resources, or services.
• Facilitate review of high-risk cases by the Office of General Counsel and Risk Management, and inform appropriate healthcare-team members about needed interventions.
• Coordinate interventions with the healthcare team and ensure they are successful.
• Educate patients and families to promote wellness and increase understanding of the healthcare system.
• Apply knowledge of utilization management, including level-of-care assignment, payer communication, and benefit authorization when applicable.
• Participate in clinical performance-improvement activities.
• Assist with collecting and reporting financial indicators, including length of stay, avoidable days, resource utilization, and discharge barriers.
• Use financial, clinical, quality, and patient-satisfaction data to inform decisions and performance-improvement strategies for assigned patients or units.
• New graduates participate in weekly clinical supervision with an LCSW Social Worker until completing at least 3,000 supervised hours.
• After three years post-master’s degree, the Social Worker is eligible to provide graduate-level field supervision requiring a field placement.
• Maintain professional development and Social Work CEU requirements through workshops, conferences, and in-services.
• Comply with patient-confidentiality policies, including HIPAA requirements, and Personal Rules of Conduct.

Benefits

• Tuition reimbursement
• Loan forgiveness
• 401(k) matching
• A wide range of benefits and resources supporting physical, emotional, and financial well-being and protection against unexpected life events

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level