Northwestern Medicine · 16 hours ago
Social Service Associate-Part-time Days
McHenry, IL
Part-time
Onsite
Mid Level
3+ years expNorthwestern Medicine is a leader in the healthcare industry, dedicated to providing patient-first care. The Social Service Associate plays a crucial role in supporting patients through psycho-education, counseling, and advocacy, while ensuring effective discharge planning and connection to community resources.
Emergency MedicineHealth CareHospitalMedicalNutritionRehabilitation
Responsibilities
Completes Care Coordination Assessment within 24 hours of Order to assist with throughput
Collaborates with the Interdisciplinary Team to assist with patient satisfaction and discharge plan
Ensures discharge plan is initiated at admission
Ensures patient is discharged with appropriate referrals so can successfully move within the healthcare continuum and prevent re-admission
Is concerned about the perception of patients, families, and the community regarding Northwestern Medicine's Healthcare System
Services are focused on addressing behavioral, social, financial, and environmental issues in order to achieve optimum clinical quality, patient satisfaction, and cost effectiveness of care
Assesses patients to gather data for bio-psychosocial assessment upon admission and conducts re-assessments as needed
Assessments accurately reflect relevant age-specific and cultural-specific factors
Assists the patient/caregivers/family in understanding and working through bio-psychosocial and financial concerns as they relate to the patients continuum of care, rehabilitation process, behavioral health treatment, substance abuse, or medical treatment
Facilitates patient/family decision-making process for developing an appropriate treatment plan and coordinates with community organizations in order to ensure effective utilization of services
Coordinates efforts of patient, family, and healthcare professionals to develop a discharge plan for post-hospital care based on documented bio-psychosocial needs
Provides continuity of care through referrals and linkage to appropriate community resources based on identified needs
Ensures timely discharge planning and throughput initiatives
Coordinates post-hospitalization and/or rehabilitation services that may include, but are not limited to home health, home medical equipment, transportation, inpatient behavioral health placement, and nursing home placement
Determines and complies with payer requirements in order to ensure maximum coverage for services in the continuum of care
Assesses patients for potential abuse/neglect and need for guardianship, takes appropriate action, and follows-up with appropriate community agencies
Acts as a patient advocate in all communications with internal and external systems
Provides education to patient/family in regards to effective use of community resources
Facilitates interdisciplinary care conferences and provides education on psychosocial issues
Works collaboratively withpatients interdisciplinary treatment team to identify opportunities for improvement and implement best practice solutions
Provides brief, supportive psychotherapy to patient and family at bedside when appropriate, to assist with management of symptoms and engage patient in treatment while hospitalized for medical concerns
Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possesses the ability to assess data reflective of the patients status. Includes being able to interpret the appropriate information to identify patients age-specific needs
Completes appropriate documentation and facilitates discharge plan and treatment recommendations for patients. Communicates assessment and clinical findings to the interdisciplinary treatment team
Provides psycho-education to nursing and medical staff on mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders
Acts as a clinical resource for Behavioral Health and Chemical Dependency services to the other service lines within Northwestern Medicine
Works collaboratively with medical and nursing staff to share necessary information regarding specific patient care issues and to coordinate intervention strategies
Participates in System wide initiatives on Social Service issues
Helps to develop Processes and materials that support an understanding of these issues
Demonstrates knowledge and skills in provision of services to varied populations including pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients with a wide variety of medical diagnoses
Ensures prompt response to patient, discharge, and referral needs
Consults with the Attending Psychiatrist to determine if a Patient Safety Companion can be discontinued after the completion of a risk assessment when requested
Consults with the patient's Attending Physician to determine if the patient needs to be reported to the Firearms Owners Identification Database (FOID) after the completion of a risk assessment
Remains apprised of evidence-based practices and maintains a network of professionals to exchange ideas and benchmark best practices
Flexible with working in various units or Hospital sites to meet patient needs
Actively maintains confidentiality for patients and their families as outlined in the Northwestern Medicine Patient Confidentiality Policy and shows the same level of respect for every Associate within Northwestern Medicine
Adheres to and is responsible for the safety standards of Northwestern Medicine including the completion of the mandatory organizational safety standards on an annual basis
Qualification
Required
Masters Degree in Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, or a Human Services related field is required
Psy. D. is also acceptable
Preferred
Three years of assessment, admission, and crisis intervention experience with Behavioral Health and/or Chemical Dependency patients in an acute care/medical setting
Benefits
Tuition reimbursement
Loan forgiveness
401(k) matching
Lifecycle benefits
Company
Northwestern Medicine
Northwestern Medicine is the collaboration between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine around a strategic vision to transform the future of health care.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern Medicine has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (75)
2024 (66)
2023 (70)
2022 (78)
2021 (35)
2020 (39)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$25M2018-06-26Grant· $25M
Leadership Team
Howard Chrisman, MD
President and CEO
John A. Orsini, CPA
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2026-01-13
Near North Health
2025-12-01
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