CHCWM - Social Worker

General Summary: Uses clinical knowledge to facilitate/coordinate referrals to outside agencies for financial and/or medical needs as directed. Assists with any paperwork/letters required for patients to receive SSD, Medicaid, CSHCS, FMLA, STD, LTD, CLF or LLS assistance, or any other paperwork deemed necessary by supervisor to assist patients. Facilitates advance care planning discussions and assists patients in completing advance directives. Assists with follow up for distress screenings. Provides financial screenings for patients and families facing the impact of potential or actual cancer or hematologic disorders. Provides appropriate assistance and resources for needs assessed during initial assessment. Manages the patient assistance programs for all patients requiring this service.

Job Requirements:

Education: Master’s degree in Social Work with full licensure (or eligible for full licensure within 90 days of hire), in good standing.

Experience: Recent relevant clinical experience related to the medical field, community mental health, oncology support programs or Medicaid/Social Services preferred.

Other: Ability to interact effectively and pleasantly over the phone and face-to-face with a diverse population. Ability to work as a productive member of an inter-disciplinary team. Demonstrates excellent verbal and written communication skills. Demonstrates ability to maintain professional composure under pressure. Demonstrates excellent organizational skills. Ability to multi-task effectively. Working knowledge of computers. Independent mobility to visit patient care areas/locations, and carry all materials, forms and resource manuals necessary in working with patients. Sufficient range of motion to pull charts from racks and ability to chart by hand and computer.

Preferred Knowledge/Skills/Abilities/Education/Experience: Ability to work independently as well as with a team. Ability to organize work and to prioritize a high number of referrals/assessments on a daily basis. Have developed skills in the areas of initiative, motivation, judgment, and decision making, active learning, active listening, problem identification, information gathering, creativity, troubleshooting, charting, confidentiality, boundaries, and time management. Preferred knowledge areas include knowledge of human behavior, sociology (knowledge of individual/group behaviors and dynamics, diverse cultures, values, and ethnicity), philosophy (knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices), and knowledge of local and state resources available to patients under the care of CHCWM.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

1.  Facilitates conversations surrounding advance care planning and advance directives, end of life issues, nursing home/assisted living transitions, and hospice care.

2.  Serve as a patient advocate to access federal, state, and local resources identified to address financial and/or medical needs.

3.  Documents all financial assessments, interventions, outcomes, referrals, and services provided.

4.  Provide and assist patients with required applications to apply for patient assistance programs as deemed appropriate (Medicaid, PAP’s, PSI, Healthwell, PAN, etc). Organize and coordinate all patient assistance applications (i.e. make sure all applications are complete and mailed/faxed to the appropriate companies, follow-up with the companies to check on status of applications and whether or not the patient qualifies for the program, note when drugs should be expected, order re-fills on drugs received through patient assistance programs, etc.).

5.  Communicates and collaborates with the pharmacy, reimbursement, and nursing departments to minimize duplication of effort/services and ensure a seamless coordination of services.

6.  Communicates and interacts with peers and other departments in a manner that is viewed as having a positive effect on patient services and CHCWM staff morale. Interacts effectively with patients/family members and demonstrates sensitivity in regards to cultural diversity, age specific needs and confidentiality.

7.  Follows up on distress screenings, providing appropriate emotional support and referring to ancillary resources as needed.

Functions as a team member by expanding his/her responsibilities as directed by management to facilitate optimal workflow within the cancer center.

This employee has access to medical records whenever a request for information is made. The parts of the medical record s/he needs to reference to perform his/her job are as follows: Face Sheet Section, Physician Correspondence, Labs, Home Health (Encounter Forms), Chemotherapy Flow Sheet (Treatment Section), Dictation, Entire Chart/Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Electronic Billing System (EBS).

Work Environment: High stress, fast paced and ever changing work environment. Demanding regarding organization and prioritization of large caseload, meeting deadlines in time frames given frequent interruptions and handling multiple situations simultaneously. Very detailed work.

Approximately 65% of the time spent sitting, 35% standing/walking/moving. Ability to transport/carry items weighing less than 20 pounds (charts, resource materials, other).

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