What Does the Hospice Social Worker Do?

The social worker is an essential part of the hospice team but many people wonder, what does the hospice social worker do?

Answer:

The hospice social worker is a certified medical social worker (MSW) who has had specialized training in end-of-life care. Social workers have in-depth knowledge and expertise in working with ethnic, cultural, and economic diversity; family and support networks; multidimensional symptom management; bereavement; interdisciplinary practice; interventions across the life cycle; and navigating health care systems. They are concerned with enhancing quality of life and promoting well-being for patients, families, and caregivers.

In the hospice and palliative care setting, the social worker may help with any number of the following:

• Assisting patients and families in making health care decisions based on personal goals of care.
• Ensuring the patient's end-of-life wishes are documented and known by assisting with advance directives, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, or POLST forms.
• Contacting local agencies and/or community resources that may be of help to patients and families (i.e. hospice agencies, Meals-on-Wheels, Life Alert, etc.).
• Assistance with insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid paperwork.
• Assistance with funeral planning.
• Identifying emotional and spiritual needs of the patient and their loved ones and finding appropriate support as needed.
• Assistance with bridging family gaps to bring loved ones together whenever possible (for example, help obtaining temporary Visa's for out-of-country family members).
• Assisting survivors with necessary arrangements and paperwork after death occurs.
• Assisting survivors in obtaining appropriate grief counseling.
• Identifying other needs of the patient and their support circle and assisting as needed.

Typically, one social worker is assigned to a patient to provide continuity of care. The social worker will build a relationship with the hospice patient and their support system and assist in areas of need they identify together. Most hospice agencies have a social worker on-call for urgent patient and family needs after-hours as well.

http://dying.about.com/od/thepalliativecareteam/f/hospice_social_worker.htm