Social Worker-MSW LSW

Social Worker-MSW LSW

Position Title: Social Worker – MSW LSW

Department: Social Services

Location: University Hospital, Indianapolis, IN

Shift: Full-Time Days

Position Overview: The Social Worker collaborates directly with patients and families through face-to-face interactions, providing psychosocial assessments, counseling, discharge planning, and crisis intervention. This role involves working closely with the healthcare team to ensure safe, timely, and resource-rich care. The Social Worker also serves as a liaison between IU Health and local protective services, manages complex cases such as abuse, neglect, guardianship, and end-of-life planning, and responds to acute crises with de-escalation techniques. The position requires strong community engagement, crisis management, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

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 health conditions or disabilities.
• 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.
• Respond to dangerous and potentially dangerous situations with clinical intervention and de-escalation.
• Support patients during acute crises, utilizing de-escalation techniques to prevent violence.
• Facilitate decision-making and care planning conversations with patients and families.
• Maintain strong professional relationships with hospital administration, medical teams, law enforcement, social services, and community agencies.
• Document all assessments and interventions proficiently in 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 required 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.
• Understanding of disease processes, human behavior, and health-related social needs.
• Strong discharge planning skills to ensure safe transfers of care.
• Knowledge of state and county legal mandates for child and adult protective services.
• Understanding of growth and development principles across the lifespan, including end-of-life care.
• Experience in managing services across diverse geographical, cultural, and financial populations.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with hospital staff, law enforcement, social services, schools, and community agencies.
• Responds effectively to violence or threats, including de-escalation and safety techniques.
• Computer literacy and proficiency in documentation within an electronic medical record system.
• May be scheduled for on-call, holiday, or weekend rotations.

Why IU Health?

Join Indiana's leading healthcare system, committed to delivering compassionate, patient-centered care. We offer opportunities for professional development, a collaborative team environment, and a focus on improving community health.

Benefits: Benefits Designed for You

We are an equal opportunity employer. IU Health does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, national origin, gender identity and/or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.