Senior Social Worker (Community Nursing Home)

Summary

The Senior Social Worker (CNH) provides clinical intervention and case management support for the CNH program in South Texas Veterans Healthcare System (STVHCS) Catchment area. The Senior Social Worker (CNH) serves as a point of contact between the nursing home and STVHCS. Through the CNH program, the Senior Social Worker (CNH) is responsible for keeping accurate track of visits and other administrative functions as needed.

Duties

The Senior Social Worker (CNH) requires knowledge of the complex needs of Veterans and families who require nursing home level of care. Duties include, but are not limited to: Provides clinical oversight within their scope of practice to Veterans in the CNH program, as well as case management to high acuity Veterans within the CNH program. Utilizes knowledge of the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness as it relates to residents of the CNH program. Uses the ability to incorporate complex multiple causations in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, to aid in investigations of abuse, neglect or other psychosocial concerns within the facility. Incumbent accurately documents the investigation with use of Heads Up and Issues Briefs Provides subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the CNH program, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. The Senior Social Worker (CNH) teaches and mentors staff and students in the specialty area of practice and provides supervision for licensure. Develops and implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, inpatient days, patient demographics, and patient satisfaction as required and needed. Implements and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization in conjunction with the CNH Oversight Committee Monitors the quality of care the Veterans receive, monitors adverse events in CNH facilities and reports to the CNH Coordinator, CNH Oversight Committee, and the ACOS for Geriatric Care significant problems and concerns. Assists the CNH Coordinator in arranging onsite CNH reviews within program specified time frames and conducts annual reviews through assessment of various aspects of care and data. Establishes functional work relationships and facilitates communication regarding CNH program issues and changes with various disciplines matrixed to the CNH program. Completes thorough reviews of medical records in CPRS and from the facility, as well as interviews with Veteran and staff, to determine the underlying causes of the presenting problem(s), the interpersonal and environmental factors impacting the problem and its effect on the patient's ability and desire to comply with the treatment recommendations by the multidisciplinary team. Provides education through training or informal meetings to facility CNH staff regarding Veteran care, safety concerns and suicide evaluation. Follows STVHCS standard operating procedures for evaluating and mitigating suicide risk. Completes other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm or 7:30am-4:00pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad-hoc only, as determined by the Agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 55747-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education. Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the 4 accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) und