Social Work Supervisor at VISITING NURSE SERVICE AND HOSPICE OF SUFFOLK in Northport, New York

Job Description:

Duties and Responsibilities:
· Evaluation, assessment, guidance, advice and counseling to patients in the home care/hospice house setting.
· Assessing the client's psychosocial status.
· Assisting other team members in understanding the social and emotional factors related to health problems.
· Participating in the development of a care plan.
· Providing social work services including short-term individual counseling, community resource planning, and crisis intervention.
· Preparing clinical and progress notes.
· Involving the family in the care plan.
· Utilizing appropriate community resources.
· Goal setting, discharge planning, and evaluation.
· Participating in in-service programs.
· In addition to the above, the Hospice Medical Social Worker provides services in accordance with the plan of treatment including:
· Assisting the physician and other team members in understanding the social and emotional factors related to terminal illness.
· Identifying existing mental disorder and stress that exacerbates the disorder or symptoms related to terminal illness.
· Assessing the patient/caregiver psychosocial status.
· Assessing the patient potential risk of suicide and/or potential for abuse or neglect.
· Assessing environmental resources and obstacles to maintaining safety.
· Participating in the development and revision of a plan of care.
· Providing social services including short-term individual counseling, crisis intervention, assistance in providing information and preparation of advance directives, funeral planning, issues involving transfer of fiscal, legal, and health care responsibility.
· Identifying family dynamics, communication patterns, and involving the family/significant other in the plan of care.
· Identifying and utilizing appropriate community resources and assessing patient/family/caregiver's ability to access them.
· Evaluating patient/family response to psychosocial interventions.
· Assessing caregiver's ability to function adequately.
· Assessing need for counseling related to risk assessment for pathological grief.
· Assessing special needs related to cultural diversity including communication, space, role of family members, and special traditions.
· Identifying the developmental level of patient/family/caregiver and obstacles to learning or ability to participate in care of patient.
· Addressing patient/family questions and issues.
· Identifying obstacles to compliance and assisting in understanding goals of intervention.
· Identifying support systems available to reduce stress and facilitate coping with end-of-life care;
· Evaluating for long-term care when appropriate and assessing ability to accept change in level of care.
· Communicating psychosocial information to inpatient facility when level of care is changed;
· Assisting family in assessing financial resources when appropriate.
· Identifying patient/family needs when discharged or when level of care changes.
· Evaluating patient/family response to intervention when referred to community agency and satisfaction of service provided.
· Assessing bereavement needs.
· The Medical Social Worker must possess the following skills/knowledge/abilities:
· Thorough knowledge of theory and practices of medical social work and of social factors affecting illness.
· Thorough knowledge of Federal, State, Local, and Departmental regulations pertaining to Medical Social Work.
· Good knowledge of current sources of information and literature pertaining to medical social welfare.
· Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with patients and their families, co-workers, community health agencies, and physicians.
· Knowledge of community resources and DSS.
· Ability to assess complex psychosocial problems, and make recommendations, and follow through with MSW plan of care.
· Social Work Supervisor will supervise social work staff regarding social work clinical guidelines including but not limited to:
· Professional oversight and management of social work caseloads and productivity.
· Completion of social work performance appraisals
· Conducting field evaluations as needed and minimally on annual frequency.
· Compliance with CEU requirements.
· Orientation of new hired Social Workers.
· Coordination of Social Work services with managers of other disciplines.
· Coordination of Social Work Students assigned to VNSHS for clinical experience.
· Ensure knowledge of current agency policy, State and Federal regulations, and legislation regarding hospice or home care practice.
· Other duties as assigned.


Qualifications:

Graduation from a college or university accredited by the Council on Social Work Education with a master's degree in social work.

· Must be registered to practice in NYS as a licensed master's social worker or as a licensed clinical social worker.

Minimum of five years of social work experience in a health care setting.

· Previous home care and/or hospice experience is desirable, however, experience in a hospital, clinic, or other facility is acceptable.