Patient Access Hospital Social Worker

As a member of the Hudson Valley Hospice Interdisciplinary Team, the social worker's primary focus is supporting patients/families/staff through end-of-life issues, decision-making, and anticipatory grief. The social worker provides emotional support/counseling in addition to concrete social services as indicated and actively participates in developing the patient/family care plan.

What you will do:

• Facilitate the patient’s/family’s understanding of the adjustment of demands and challenges of terminal illness, dying, death, and grief via ongoing assessment and intervention, including individual and group counseling, grief work, caregiver/family education and support, and crisis intervention.
• Ability to provide crisis intervention as needed.
• Implements concrete services as necessary and provides a linkage with allied help, social service agencies, and institutions on behalf of the hospice patient/family with appropriate follow-up and advocacy.
• Assist with new hospital hospice referrals, which may include reviewing the hospice benefit, discussing potential cost-sharing requirements when applicable and conducting goals of care conversations with patients and families.
• Networks with hospital staff and demonstrate a good working knowledge of community services and nursing home placement processes, including referral software. Timely follow-through on needed referrals.
• Working knowledge of the Medicaid and MLTC application process relates to both community and institutional benefits; assist families with the Medicaid application process and/or nursing home placement process as indicated.
• Assists in the in-service and education of patients/families/staff and community.
• Collaborates with the Interdisciplinary team and identifies bereavement risk factors of family members prior to death event and as part of the Remembrance transition to Bereavement Services. 
• Completes comprehensive psychosocial assessment of patient and family within five days of admission. 
• Documents all interventions, including telephone, telehealth, and patient/family visits within 24 hours of the intervention.
• Assist patients and families in completing advanced directives ( MOLST, Health Care Proxy, etc.); coordinate and obtain funeral planning information.
• Connect patients and families to Veteran resources and benefits.
• Coordinate patient respite, transfer, and revocation.
• Plans for the patient's discharge and custodial care, including facilitation of assessed support needs and resources (e.g., caregiving plan, R&B, etc.). ensuring all necessary support and resources are in place. This included working closely with the patient, family members, and other healthcare providers to develop comprehensive care plans that addressed the patient’s physical, emotional, and social needs during their end-of-life care.
• Participates in the weekly Interdisciplinary Team meeting as a core discipline, contributing to the team’s understanding of the patient/family dynamics and providing input to develop and modify the plan of care as indicated. 
• Participates collaboratively in evaluating provision of hospice medical social work services.
• Practice with cultural sensitivity- to recognize families’ strengths and values, access the extended support systems, to be sensitive to ethnic, cultural, and lifestyle differences. 
• Occasional evening/weekend work may be needed.

Skills we are looking for:

• Demonstrates effective communication skills and an ability to facilitate communication between family members/patients. 
• Ability to recognize families’ strengths and weaknesses, access the extended support systems, and be sensitive to ethnic, cultural, and lifestyle differences.
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally (in person and by phone) and in writing.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks efficiently. 
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent counseling, advocacy, and collaboration skills 
• Bilingual is a plus!

Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Works in assigned settings to include patient/family homes, hospitals, and nursing facilities.
• Requires a moderate amount of travel by car.
• Routine duties involve the potential for direct exposure to blood or bodily fluids. 
• Valid New York State driver’s license with reliable transportation.

Education & Experience:

• Master’s degree in social work
• Valid New York State Social Work License or Limited Permit eligible--LCSW preferred.
• Minimum of two years of social work experience with one-year experience in medical social work, grief counseling, hospice and/or community health preferred.
• Experience working in the healthcare field is required.
• Knowledge of family and group treatment: unique issues and dynamics related to death, dying, and grief preferred.

Hours: Monday-Friday; 8:30am-4:30pm; On Call Rotation

Pay: $ $65,000 - 66,300 annually

FLSA: Exempt

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Company Matched Retirement Plan, Certification in Hospice & Palliative Care, Mileage Reimbursement, Annual Merit Increases and more!

Hudson Valley Hospice is an Equal Opportunity Employer.