Social Worker - Entitlements and Benefits

Job Description

Job Title: Social Worker - Entitlements and Benefits

Social Work Services at the Mount Sinai Hospital

The Mount Sinai Hospital is a 1,134-bed facility with an extensive outpatient and specialty care network and is the largest hospital in the Mount Sinai Health Care System. It offers comprehensive social work services and programming to meet the myriad needs of the diverse populations we serve. We believe that total patient care must emphasize the physical, emotional, and social needs of each patient and their care partners. Social Workers collaborate within interprofessional teams to serve patients and the larger community from both a micro and macro level including both direct care and prevention. Founded in 1907, the Department of Social Work Services at the Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the oldest hospital social work departments in the nation with over 450 licensed social workers employed across more than 65 different program/service areas. Employment in our department provides a pathway to LCSW licensure as well as access to a broad range of continuing education, professional development and extra-curricular opportunities.

• The social worker in this position at REAP [Resource, Entitlement, Advocacy Program] will be based at 1403-05 Madison Avenue.

• REAP plays a critical role in system-wide efforts to improve the health of our growing patient population.

• REAP helps reduce unnecessary admissions and emergency room visits by providing advocacy and assistance around benefits procurement and maintenance, by connecting patients to community resources and by assisting patients in navigating the health care system.

• This position requires willingness and ability to be flexible as REAP explores options for responding to the growing demand for its services in a rapidly changing health care environment.

• The social worker joins a team of four social workers, two Administrative Assistants, and six Care Coordinators.

• The social worker in this position will assist patients to obtain and maintain access to care.

• By intervening with more challenging and complex patient matters, the social worker supports and assists bachelors level Care Coordinators who provide comprehensive screening, benefits eligibility assessment, application assistance, and advocacy to patients seeking entitlement services.

• REAP assists with a range of government programs including Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health Plus, Essential Plan, SNAP & others.

• In addition to on-the-job training, PEAK modules & online webinars, the social worker will attend trainings with NYC HRA Medicaid as part of REAP's role as a community agency representing patients in applying for Medicaid & will attend a 3 day training to become a Certified Application Counselor with the New York State of Health Marketplace.

• REAP social workers help patients navigate the health care system, working collaboratively with multiple disciplines throughout the hospital system as well as governmental and advocacy organizations.

• REAP utilizes a team approach and social workers work closely with other REAP staff; communicating frequently throughout the day about patient and program needs.

Qualifications

• NYS LMSW or LCSW.

• Excellent clinical, collaborative, communication, advocacy and organizational skills.

• Ability to respond effectively to the urgent needs of staff and patients with diverse entitlement problems and concerns.

• Experience in addressing the entitlement problems and concerns of patients.

• Keen interest in health care policy & a desire to help patients access care by learning the details & ever-changing requirements of multiple entitlement programs.

• LCSW preferred.

• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Non-Bargaining Unit, 186 - Social Services - MSH, Mount Sinai Hospital

Responsibilities

• Screen walk-in patients; respond to "cold calls", provide interventions on complex, high-risk cases; facilitate meetings with patients and families as needed.

• Educate referring social workers about government benefit programs and update them on important changes that impact patient access to care.

• Assist Care Coordinators in monitoring and responding to patient referrals submitted to the REAP Referral email. Referrals are reviewed and additional information is gathered as needed from the referring social worker and/or patient and other sources in order to determine how the patient's access issue will be addressed and documented.

• Review Medicaid applications prepared by Care Coordinators for completeness & accuracy prior to submission.

• Screen patients for public benefits eligibility and assisting with application completion and submission.

• Advocate directly with Mount Sinai Hospital providers and Patient Financial Services staff to facilitate patient access to care.

• Document in the REAP Salesforce database and when appropriate in a shared database with the Finance Department.

• Prepare and present trainings for hospital social workers about REAP and government benefit programs.

• Share feedback and participate in decision-making around program operations.

• Participate in the development of new initiatives to enhance the overall functioning of REAP.

About Us

Strength Through Diversity

The Mount Sinai Health System believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key drivers for excellence. We share a common devotion to delivering exceptional patient care. When you join us, you become a part of Mount Sinai's unrivaled record of achievement, education, and advancement as we revolutionize medicine together. We invite you to participate actively as a part of the Mount Sinai Health System team by:

• Using a lens of equity in all aspects of patient care delivery, education, and research to promote policies and practices to allow opportunities for all to thrive and reach their potential.

• Serving as a role model confronting racist, sexist, or other inappropriate actions by speaking up, challenging exclusionary organizational practices, and standing side-by-side in support of colleagues who experience discrimination.

• Inspiring and fostering an environment of anti-racist behaviors among and between departments and co-workers.

At Mount Sinai, our leaders strive to learn, empower others, and embrace change to further advance equity and improve the well-being of staff, patients, and the organization. We expect our leaders to embrace anti-racism, create a collaborative and respectful environment, and constructively disrupt the status quo to improve the system and enhance care for our patients. We work hard to create an inclusive, welcoming and nurturing work environment where all feel they are valued, belong and are able to advance professionally.

Explore more about this opportunity and how you can help us write a new chapter in our history!

"About the Mount Sinai Health System:

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time - discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it. Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients' medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,400 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report's "Best Children's Hospitals" ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country's best in several pediatric specialties. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is ranked No. 14 nationwide in National Institutes of Health funding and in the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Newsweek's "The World's Best Smart Hospitals" ranks The Mount Sinai Hospital as No. 1 in New York and in the top five globally, and Mount Sinai Morningside in the top 20 globally.

The Mount Sinai Health System is an equal opportunity employer. We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude, or treat people differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We are passionately committed to addressing racism and its effects on our faculty, staff, students, trainees, patients, visitors, and the communities we serve. Our goal is for Mount Sinai to become an anti-racist health care and learning institution that intentionally addresses structural racism."

EOE Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans

Compensation Statement

Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) provides a salary range to comply with the New York City Law on Salary Transparency in Job Advertisements. The salary range for the role is $82000 - $97760.11 Annually. Actual salaries depend on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and hospital need. The salary range or contractual rate listed does not include bonuses/incentive, differential pay or other forms of compensation or benefits.