Position Summary: Provide for the psychosocial and grief needs of assigned hospice patients while collaborating closely with the interdisciplinary team in developing and supporting the patients’ individualized plans of care. Assess and provide for the bereavement needs and counseling of families/ caregivers of deceased hospice patients for a period of 13 months post death.

Essential Functions

• Provide social work as a member of the hospice interdisciplinary team to hospice patients across the life span, from infancy through old age.
• Comprehensively assess hospice patients' psychosocial, emotional, environmental, bereavement, cultural, and socio-economic strengths, needs, deficits, and obstacles.
• Collaboratively develop and support an individualized hospice plan of are with patients/families/caregivers and interdisciplinary team members to optimize patient/family psychosocial functioning and support patient goals and the EOL needs of the patient/family/caregiver.
• Facilitate and support patient and family participation in treatment interventions, plan of care, family meetings, life review and memory making opportunities.
• Provide emotional support, counseling and education to patients/families/caregivers to ease stress, support management of symptoms, and promote understanding and preparation for end of life both physically and emotionally.
• Assist with informed end of life decision making and planning, through counseling and supportive problem solving around advance directives, power of attorney, funeral planning, additional caregiving needs and any obstacles that affect patient care and quality of life.
• Provide guidance, assessment and intervention in emergent patient situations including, but not limited to, abuse/neglect, medication diversion, caregiver breakdown, suicidality and safety concerns.
• Make community service referrals, as appropriate, to support patient/family/caregiver needs and goals.
• Provide timely feedback and follow-up to patients, families, interdisciplinary team members, peers and community agencies.
• Maintain and support proactive and ongoing communication with the patient/family and IDG.
• Provide assessment and routine services in accordance with regulatory requirements and ensure that documentation is timely and accurate.
• Facilitate discharge planning in accordance with regulatory requirements as well as patient/family needs.
• Serve as a supportive, consultative and educational resource to the interdisciplinary team IDG, volunteers and community partners on issues ranging from culture and diversity, grief, end of life planning, and professional coping support for healthcare providers.
• Complete condolence outreach and a bereavement assessment for hospice bereaved to establish a bereavement risk/priority level and bereavement plan of care for each bereaved.
• Provide bereavement care to bereaved hospice families/caregivers, from early childhood through elders, for 13 months post patient death, following a timeline outlined in the Samaritan bereavement standards of care.
• Provide grief support services to hospice bereaved through grief education, individual and group counseling, telephone outreach and facilitation of appropriate community referrals.
• Support hospice operations and patient care by serving as counselor on call after hours and weekends in accordance with departmental rotations
• Other duties as assigned.

Education or Degree Required: Masters of Social Work from an accredited school of social work

License/Certification Required: LSW or LCSW. Valid Driver’s License and Evidence of Auto Insurance

Related Experience and Training Required: At least 1 year medical or health related experience required after licensure or 900 hours of medical or health related internship related to a master’s program. Must have knowledge of community resources and ability to navigate EMR technology and technology used for telehealth service.

Join Our Team

Samaritan is a not-for-profit healthcare provider of life-enhancing care that includes primary care at home, palliative medicine, hospice care, and grief support. We are proud to be here for people, not for profit.

In return for your expertise, you'll enjoy excellent training, generous paid time off, and industry-leading benefits. Be a part of our great team! Apply today!

• Highly competitive salary.
• Generous paid time off.
• Excellent benefits package, supplemented with concierge services, including but not limited to vision, dental, life insurance, Employee Assistance Program, Flexible Spending Account, travel reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, multiple discount programs.
• Career opportunities, promotional opportunities and work schedule flexibility.
• Holidays.
• 403 (b) and employer match.
• Annual employee milestone awards ceremony and recognition activities including peer recognition, and annual department celebrations.
• Samaritan is committed to inclusion, diversity, & access through board and staff committees and according to our employee surveys, employees are highly engaged, rate our management team as highly effective, and embrace our welcoming culture as demonstrated by the number of tenured employees.
• Training and professional development opportunities.
• Employee referral bonuses.
• Performance reviews, merit raises, and bonus opportunities.
• Conveniently-located administrative office with amenities such as an updated kitchen, think tank for brainstorming, quiet meditation room, private mother's room, and more.
• Opportunity to work for South Jersey’s first and largest hospice organization.

Providing Superior Care

Samaritan has been recognized by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) as a “Superior Performer” for achieving an overall caregiver and family satisfaction score that ranked in the top 20% of all eligible SHP clients for the 2019 calendar year.

The annual SHPBest™ award program was created to acknowledge hospice providers that consistently provide high quality service to families and caregivers of patients receiving hospice care.

Not-for-Profit Provider

Our compassionate healthcare experts provide many options for people living with chronic or serious illness:

• primary care,
• supportive palliative medical care,
• hospice care,
• grief support,
• and two inpatient hospice centers.

Samaritan helps patients and their families live their best life every day and has been proudly serving the South Jersey community since 1980.

Skills

• Detail Oriented
• Communication

Behaviors

• Detail Oriented: Capable of carrying out a given task with all details necessary to get the task done well
• Dedicated: Devoted to a task or purpose with loyalty or integrity