HOURLY RANGE: $28.041-$37.331

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: The work involves assisting in providing non-professional social work services to residents and their caregivers at the Terrace View Long-Term Care Facility at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMCC). The incumbent provides assistance to patients and their families relative to medically related social and emotional problems. Incumbents consult and cooperate with professional social work staff and external agency personnel to facilitate efficient utilization of resources related to residents’ daily living and post-discharge care. Work is performed under the direct supervision of a higher-level professional employee. Supervision is not a function of this position. Does related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:

• Interviews residents and their caregivers to obtain relevant medical and social history;
• Assists with completion of admission paperwork;
• Confers with facility personnel on behalf of residents and serves as an advocate;
• Assists the patient, families and/or community agencies to resolve barriers to discharge or post-discharge living;
• Assists residents in obtaining items for daily living and post-charge living such as transportation, appliances, appropriate room placement, socioeconomic issues, guardianship proceedings, etc.;
• Meets with patients and families to present and review rehabilitation and post-discharge care options;
• Facilitates and provides education (not requiring licensure) on related subject matters to residents and caregivers;
• Compiles medical-social history summarizations and statistical reports related to social work activity and documents such in the electronic medical record (EMR);
• Collects and revises information on community health and welfare resources;
• Participates in comprehensive care plan meetings and related meetings, trainings, committees, etc.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Good knowledge of modern principles and practices of social casework; good know1edge of social services performed in a long-term care/skilled nursing setting; good knowledge of available ECMCC and community resources as it relates to patient/resident health status; working knowledge of applicable laws, rules, regulations, accreditation standards, and ECMCC policies and procedures; skill in interviewing; ability to apply social casework techniques in a health care environment; ability to apply social casework techniques in a long-term care/skilled nursing setting; ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse constituency; ability to utilize a variety of electronic software applications; empathy; sound professional judgment; capable of performing the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree** in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Nursing or closely related field and one (1) year of experience* in social work, counseling or discharge planning in a healthcare setting; or:
2. Completion of sixty (60) semester credit hours** in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Nursing or closely related field and three (3) years of experience* in social work, counseling or discharge planning in a healthcare setting; or:
3. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

NOTE*: Possession of a Master’s Degree** in Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, Nursing or closely related field may be substituted for six (6) months of experience in social work, counseling or discharge planning in a healthcare setting.

NOTE 2**: Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education.  If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency.  A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm.  You must pay the required evaluation fee.

NOTE 3: Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time   experience requirements.