In-Home Medical Social Worker
Medical Social Workers are skilled professionals who offer emotional support, advocacy, and resources to patients with chronic diseases or who are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury. They are problem solvers who identify issues that affect patients' health and recommend solutions
How Does It Work?
Your home health social worker coordinates with you, your healthcare providers and other members of the home health team so you can receive care that best suits your needs. The social worker's role in home health care is to provide:
- One-on-one education about health and wellness, tailored to patients' needs, home routines and goals.
- Counseling for emotional or mental health concerns
- Support with coping skills
- Advocacy for patients, helping to communicate their needs and any issues that may affect their care to the healthcare team.
- Help accessing financial assistance and health insurance coverage.
- Referrals to helpful community resources (e.g., healthy meals, transportation, or social outlets like a local senior center)
- Help with planning for long-term care.
What To Expect From A Msw
Home health social work starts with an assessment to understand your unique needs And goals. Some common goals of medical social services
are to help families cope with the challenges of caregiving and to help you:
- Feel heard and access the resources you need.
- Cope with your illness
- Stay out of the hospital as much as possible.
- Improve quality of life by meeting social and emotional needs
- Navigate the healthcare system.
- Achieve the maximum level of independence, so you can stay home as long as possible.
- Create a plan to achieve longer term goals