Under general supervision of Medical Social Work Director, the Medical Social Worker will conduct casework and is responsible for case management duties for patients and families. Participates in and provides educational activities within the community Winslow Indian Health Care Center (WIHCC) serves. Provides direct care to all age groups and must have the knowledge and skills to care for the physical, emotional, and developmental needs of these populations. The individual will work in conjunction with multidisciplinary teams members involved in the care of patients at the WIHCC. Upholds the principles of WIHCC’s Vision, Mission, and Value Statements. Maintains confidentiality of all privileged information.
This list of duties and responsibilities is illustrative only of the tasks performed by this position and is not all-inclusive.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
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Assesses for and provides assistance to patients/families with the biopsychosocial and functional issues potentially impacting their medical care adherence or physical condition.
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Performs direct case management through psychosocial evaluation that identifies and assesses personal, emotional, and social functions affecting the patient’s adjustment to health status.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge and compliance with Social Services and WIHCC policies and procedures.
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Serves as a patient advocate.
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In collaboration with PRC case managers and clinical care coordinators, performs reevaluation of discharge plans for appropriateness, such as longer admissions than expected, etc.
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Participates in multi-disciplinary conferencing with other departments and/or hospitals to facilitate best patient care with knowledge of appropriate community-based resources
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Serves as liaison within the organization and to outside agencies to identify and provide referrals for identified financial needs for patients.
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Participates in mandatory in-services, quality improvement activities, and WIHCC committees as required by the department.
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Collaborates with other departments to solve existing problems and assure the quality of service delivered.
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Have a thorough practical knowledge of CMS, HIPAA, EMTALA, AAAHC and WIHCC policies and procedures.
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Performs direct casework as a medical social worker.
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Assists in arranging for information exchange with facilities, including after-hours care.
- Collaborates proactively with all interdisciplinary team members and with a customer-focus to facilitate and maximize patient healthcare outcomes, such as PRC, Appointment Clerks, and HIM.
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Utilizes campus software packages and applications for ordering, scheduling, and tracking customer care.
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Promotes health care outcomes with currently accepted clinical practice guidelines.
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May be required to be on-call after hours as needed or assigned.
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Maintains regular attendance and punctuality.
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Dependable in attendance and job performance.
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Upholds all principles of confidentiality and patient care to the fullest extent.
- Adheres to all professional and ethical behavior standards of the healthcare industry.
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Adheres to WIHCCs Personnel Policies and Procedures, departmental policies, rules, and regulations.
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Interacts in an honest, trustworthy and dependable manner with patients, employees, visitors, and vendors.
- Possesses cultural awareness and sensitivity.
- Maintains compliance with all Human Resources requirements.
- Performs other duties as assigned
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor’s in Social Work, Master’s in Social Work preferred for MSW position. Two years of experience in the medical field or have familiarization with many areas under “SKILLS” listed below; BLS required. Bilingual skills in English and Navajo language preferred. Must maintain a valid unrestricted and insurable driver’s license. Must successfully pass a background investigation and maintain suitable requirements for a Child Care position. This position is considered as a Child Care position, which requires a satisfactory background check investigation and is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, as amended (henceforth referred as the ICPFVP Act).
Knowledge, Skills, Ability
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Knowledge of scope of patient care services provided by other clinical service lines and the referral process.
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Knowledge of clinic practices and ability to act as a resource for clinic personnel.
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Knowledge of EHR, RPMS, iCare, and other WIHCC software programs in the performance of patient care and coordination.
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Knowledge of strong work ethics in the workplace.
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Knowledge of basic application of confidentiality.
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Knowledge of duties and responsibilities of the position.
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Knowledge of basic computer skills, e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge of home health/hospice referrals.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge of nursing home placements.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge in durable medical equipment arrangements, in collaboration with PRC.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge in long term care/community resource referrals.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge and competence in crisis intervention and grief counseling.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge in advanced directive education and adoption referrals.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge and competence in discharge planning/travel arrangements.
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Demonstrates competence in substance abuse evaluations and referrals, child and elder abuse evaluations.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge of hospital and VA transfers.
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Demonstrates competence in patient education, mental health education, consultation and evaluations.
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Demonstrates practical knowledge and competence with organ donor request.
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Seeks out additional learning opportunities to continue to develop the technical and professional skills needed now and in the future.
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Assesses patient needs using established clinical guidelines, protocols, and pathways.
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Ability to perform job using evidenced-based practices, and shared governance in a multidisciplinary team model.
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Ability to be dependable in attendance and job performance.
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Ability to meet attendance, overtime (if necessary), and other reliability requirements of the job.
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Ability to accept and learn from feedback.
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Ability to effectively communicate both in written and verbal.
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Ability to provide exemplary customer service at all times.
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Ability to interact positively with others and possess great interpersonal skills.
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Ability to multitask and perform well under pressure.
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Ability to have self-confidence.
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Ability to be a great team player.
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Ability to accept and learn from supervisor/peer critique.
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Ability to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the organization.
Physical Demands:
While performing the essential functions of this position, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects and equipment, reach with hands and arms, and communicate effectively by talking and hearing. The employee frequently must stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and may occasionally use taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
Work Environment:
Work is performed in an office setting or outdoor work environment with moderate noise levels. Work environment may involve exposure to physical risks, such as blood borne pathogens, hazardous chemicals, or operating potential dangerous equipment, and requires adherence to all safety protocols. Required work schedules may include evening, weekend, overnight shifts, extended hours, or irregular schedules and rotation as operational needs dictate.
As required by P.L. 93-638, absolute preference will be given to qualified Navajo applicants. If there is no qualified Navajo applicant, preference will be given to qualified American Indian applicants.
