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Home Health
Home Health Social Workers assess the biological, emotional, and
social factors related to the patient’s illness and how these
factors affect the progress or stability of the patient’s
medical condition. Following this assessment, the social worker
implements a plan of care to obtain available community and
financial resources to assist the patient in resolving issues.
The social worker may also provide short-term counseling
services to the patient for adjustment to illness, to intervene
with family members or other caregivers to resolve conflicts or
remove barriers to effective treatment. The primary goal is to
keep the patient safely in his/her home with sufficient
support/services. Medical Social Services must be ordered by the
physician and is included in the plan of treatment. The services
must be provided by a licensed social worker.
Hospice
Social workers are a core discipline on hospice and palliative
care teams. In hospice, the patient and family are considered
the client and are assigned a social worker. The social worker
meets with them and completes an assessment of their physical,
emotional, social, and financial needs. The social worker
partners with the patient/family and interdisciplinary team to
facilitate a plan of care which encompasses all of their needs.
Each family system is unique and has specific circumstances
which requires individual consideration as we assist the client
during this most complex process. The social worker is available
to assist in finding community resources, to provide short-term
counseling, and to assist with anticipatory grief as well as
bereavement follow-up. Ethical dilemmas (such as withdrawing or
withholding treatment) also arise, and social workers are adept
at problem solving, advocacy, and helping to facilitate
communication to find solutions that are helpful to each family.
The services are provided by licensed social workers.
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