Social Worker-MSW LSW

Position Title: Social Worker – MSW LSW 

Department: Hospital Social Work Services

Location: Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, IN

Position Overview: The Social Worker meets face-to-face with patients and families to conduct psychosocial assessments, provide counseling, discharge planning, and crisis intervention. This role involves collaborating with healthcare teams, community agencies, and protective services to ensure patients receive safe, timely, and resource-rich care. The Social Worker manages complex cases such as abuse, neglect, guardianship, and high-risk crises, employing de-escalation and safety techniques as needed.

Key Responsibilities:  

Meet face-to-face with patients and families to assess psychosocial needs and coordinate care.  

Communicate and collaborate with all members of the healthcare team to facilitate safe, timely services and resource provision.  

Interpret and communicate complex patient and family needs, modeling caring practices for team members.  

Conduct psychosocial risk assessments evaluating prior functioning, support systems, reactions to illness, and coping strategies.  

Counsel patients and families regarding emotional, social, and financial impacts of illness or disability.  

Access and mobilize family and community resources to meet identified needs.  

Provide mental health assessments upon physician referral and deliver therapeutic interventions, including crisis and addiction assessments.  

Support complex discharge planning, including guardianship, foster care, adoption, and mental health placements.  

Serve as the primary point person for cases involving child abuse/neglect, adult/elderly abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence.  

Act as liaison between IU Health, protective teams, law enforcement, and community agencies.  

Assist with dangerous and potentially dangerous situations, providing clinical intervention and de-escalation.  

Support patients in acute crises, utilizing de-escalation techniques to prevent violence.  

Facilitate decision-making and goals of care conversations to ensure excellent patient-centered care.  

Develop and maintain strong working relationships with hospital administrators, medical teams, law enforcement, APS/DCS, schools, probation, and other community agencies.  

Respond with or in lieu of the Department of Public Safety to de-escalate violence.  

Document all assessments and interventions accurately within the electronic medical record system.

Qualifications & Requirements:  

Master’s Degree in Social Work required.  

Permanent LSW licensure required.  

Certification in Crisis Prevention Intervention or equivalent de-escalation training within 6 months of hire.  

Knowledge of evidence-based psychosocial assessments, short-term therapeutic counseling, and crisis intervention for mental health and substance use disorders.  

Knowledge of disease processes and human behavior related to health-related social needs.  

Strong discharge planning skills to ensure safe transfers of care.  

Knowledge of legal mandates for child and adult protective services at the state and county levels.  

Understanding of growth and development principles across the lifespan, including end-of-life care.  

Ability to identify decision makers, coordinate, and execute goals of care conversations to provide excellent care and manage throughput.  

Experience in adapting services to geographically, culturally, and financially diverse populations.  

Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with hospital administration, medical teams, law enforcement, APS/DCS, schools, probation, and other community agencies.  

Responds effectively to violence or threats, utilizing de-escalation and safety techniques.  

Computer literacy and proficiency in documentation within an electronic medical record system.  

May be scheduled for on-call and holiday rotations.

To learn more about our benefits, visit: IU Health Benefits

Interested?
Apply today to be part of our team and help us deliver exceptional care.