About Job

Responsibilities/Job Description:

This is a 0.7FTE (7 shifts per two week pay period) Acute Care Float Social Work position at Fairview- The University of Minnesota Medical Center! This position floats to cover various units throughout the hospital including the ICU, Cardiology, Neurology, Ortho, Med/Surg, Observation and Emergency Departments. The hours are 8a-4:30pm. There is an every 6th weekend rotation and 1 holiday per calendar year requirement.

The acute social worker works on-site with the interdisciplinary teams including providers, physical therapists, nurses, dieticians, chaplains and pharmacists to assist patients and families in navigating through their hospitalization. The acute social worker completes psychosocial assessments, care planning/ progression and creates comprehensive discharge plans from the hospital. The social worker is patient facing, responds to crisis situations, manages patient and family expectations, creates solutions to identified discharge barriers and aims to reduce length of stay and prevent avoidable hospital readmissions.

Responsibilities

Attends daily in person interdisciplinary care team rounds
Conducts thorough psychosocial assessments with patients and/ or their surrogate decision makers
Helps the care team navigate and mediate complex psychosocial dynamics
Is well versed in the surrogate decision maker policy and assists care team members with identifying surrogate decision makers according to the policy
Communicates frequently with the interdisciplinary team to ensure continuity and effective coordination of care
Provides emotional support surrounding adjustment to sudden illness, grief/bereavement and end of life planning
Addresses social determinants of health and assists with connecting patients to needed resources in the community such as chemical dependency treatment, domestic violence resources, housing stabilization services, mental health services, food shelves, transportation, financial assistance etc.
Arranges and facilitates in person care conferences as needed to support patients and their families surrounding navigating complex medical decision-making processes/ goals of care
Documents all interactions thoroughly and timely following established department standard work
Serves as the expert in system adult and child protection reporting policies
Collaborates with patients, families and interdisciplinary teams in developing an individualized discharge plan based on age, social and cultural considerations, clinical diagnoses, level of functioning and other relevant needs
Participates in hospital initiatives and projects to reduce length of stay and related barriers which may include collaborating with providers for clinical adjustments in care