Medical Social Worker - The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders

Department/Unit:

Hemophilia Program

Work Shift:

Day (United States of America)

Salary Range:

$70,068.00 - $108,605.00Medical Social Worker
The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders
Department of Pediatrics - Outpatient
Albany, NY


The Medical Social Worker provides psychosocial assessment, intervention, advocacy, and care coordination to support patients and families receiving care through the Melodies Center and Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC). The Medical Social Worker works collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team
to address social, emotional, financial, and practical barriers to care.
The Medical Social Worker and Case Manager collaborate closely and share responsibility for addressing psychosocial needs in the Melodies Center. The Medical Social Worker meets with patients and families to provide assessment and intervention based on interdisciplinary team discussion, provider, or patient request, social needs, or other emergent factors that arise during a visit. All patients are assessed for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), which can help identify needs and serve as an internal referral pathway. The Medical Social Worker role emphasizes clinical assessment, intervention, short term counseling, crisis response, and complex case management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Identifies the need for and conducts family meetings that result in comfort, decisions, and other important outcomes
• Helps create function and productivity on the many teams to which the SW belongs, facilitating the resolution of conflict to present a united message to patients and families
• Acknowledges issues of diversity and adjust practice accordingly
• Works with people and agencies in the community to improve responsiveness, capabilities, alignment, and evaluation of services to patients and families
• Collaborates with Risk Management, Patient Relations, Utilization Management, and Quality Management about potential problems and preclude outcomes detrimental to AMC
• Bases individual practice patterns on a sound knowledge base of social work principles and methodologies, social work policies, and the NASW Code of Ethics
• Demonstrates flexibility in providing department coverage as needed, including possible modification of role, responsibilities, and assigned caseload
• Completes initial screen of patients and families and a comprehensive psychosocial assessment of patients
• Assists patients and families in understanding their illness and treatments options, as well as consequences to various treatments or refusal of treatment
• Assists patients and families in communicating with treatment team
• Provides crisis intervention
• Advocates for patient care
• Coordinates continuity of care planning
• Educates hospital staff on patient psychosocial needs
• Educates patients and families on levels of care; acute, sub-acute, community services and resources

Qualifications:

• Master's Degree of Social Work degree from an accredited school of Social Work Program is required.
• LMSW (Licensed Medical Social Worker) licensure in NYS is required. LCSW is highly desired.
• Minimum of 1 year as graduate student or as a social worker with experience in the field of Clinical Social Work with experience in care transitions is required
• Ability to create collegial and collaborative relationships internally and externally.
• Knowledge of accreditation standards, health care regulations, performance improvement and patient safety.
• Effective organization, oral and written communication skills, problem solving, program development and computer skills.
• Knowledge of health care law and regulations related to acute care and the immediate post-acute continuum
• Ability to complete a psychosocial assessment, risk factor analysis, treatment planning, and models of intervention

Thank you for your interest in Albany Med Health System!​

Albany Med Health System is an equal opportunity employer.

This role may require access to information considered sensitive to Albany Med Health System, its patients, affiliates, and partners, including but not limited to HIPAA Protected Health Information and other information regulated by Federal and New York State statutes. Workforce members are expected to ensure that:

Access to information is based on a “need to know” and is the minimum necessary to properly perform assigned duties. Use or disclosure shall not exceed the minimum amount of information needed to accomplish an intended purpose. Reasonable efforts, consistent with Albany Med Health System policies and standards, shall be made to ensure that information is adequately protected from unauthorized access and modification.