Social Worker - Palliative Care

Location: Madison, WI

Full Time 1.0 FTE (40 hours/week) | Day Shift | Monday-Friday | 8am-4:30pm

Make a lasting impact with Agrace

Join Agrace, a nationally recognized nonprofit leader in hospice and palliative care. If you are a skilled Social Worker who values meaningful, patient-centered care, this is your opportunity to make a difference!

How You’ll Make a Difference (Essential Functions)

The Social Worker is responsible for providing patient/caregiver assessment, education and support regarding care options and connection with appropriate community resources to address identified social determinants of health.

Key Responsibilities

• Patient/Family Assessment
  • Conduct comprehensive psychosocial assessments to identify patient and family needs, coping strategies and barriers to care.
  • Provide emotional support, validation of experience and offer strategies to foster resilience for patients and caregivers coping with chronic illness.

• Care Planning and Coordination
  • Formulate individualized plan of care for patients based on assessed needs, strengths, limitations and goals.
  • Collaborate with interdisciplinary care team to develop and provide recommendations to address complex situations that are consistent with patient goals and values. Interdisciplinary care team may include Agrace staff and external partners such as patient’s Primary Care Provider (PCP), specialty providers, and community service providers.
  • Facilitate advance care planning discussions and assist with completion of advance directives if indicated.
  • Provide crisis intervention. Intervene, document, report and provide support and interventions during or after crisis in coping with stress or unusual incidents such as client abuse/neglect, suicidal intent, harmful coping mechanisms or violence, etc.
  • Facilitate ongoing communication with patients, families, Agrace staff, providers and community supports.
  • Maintain timely and accurate documentation of assessment and interventions to ensure continuity of care.

• Education, and Resource Coordination
  • In alignment with patient/family goals, provide education and support regarding psychosocial aspects of coping with chronic illnesses, family caregiving, current needs and anticipated future care needs based on disease trajectory.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of education, support and interventions and adjust to assist with crisis prevention and reduce caregiver burden.
  • Develop and maintain knowledge of internal and community resources across geographic areas. Connect patients/families to resources to facilitate transitions of care and increase support. Act as patient/family advocate to obtain resources.

• Miscellaneous
  • Participate in internal work groups, meetings and committees relative to position responsibilities.
  • Participate in meetings to plan and evaluate patient/family services.
  • Participate in education and outreach.

You Bring (Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW), required; Master’s in Social Work (MSW), preferred.
• Current, unrestricted Social Work License in state of employment
• Two years of medical social work experience required.
• Valid driver’s license, auto insurance, and access to a reliable vehicle
• Ability to develop, maintain, and apply knowledge of palliative care and end of life process
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries with patients, families and co-workers
• Ability to create and follow plans of care, and patient, family, and clinical staff directions
• Intermediate Microsoft Office skills
• Intermediate electronic health records skills
• Ability to work effectively and cooperatively with others
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing
• Ability to be flexible in time and task to meet organizational needs
• Ability to maintain confidentiality about patients, families, caregivers, staff, donors, and organizational intellectual property
• Ability to use proper body mechanics, safe patient handling, and standard precautions

Benefits

• Competitive pay with mileage reimbursement
• Health, dental, and vision insurance for employees who are hired for 28+ hours per week (.7 FTE +)
• Retirement plans with employer matching
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and holiday paid time off
• Comprehensive onboarding, mentorship, and career development

About Agrace

For more than 45 years, Agrace has been an innovator and leader in both caring for patients and their families, and in educating others about death, dying and grief. We are the largest hospice provider in Wisconsin. Well known for end-of-life care, Agrace also serves people across southern Wisconsin who are aging, seriously ill or grieving.

At Agrace we are strengthened by the unique experiences, cultures and traditions of our staff, patients and clients.

Together, we pursue a vision in which every Agrace staff member is treated fairly, and every patient and client experiences the respectful, individualized care they need and deserve.

We foster a culture of belonging that celebrates people’s uniqueness and leads to meaningful, empathetic connections.

Agrace Health Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.