Position Title: Social Worker – MSW LSW
Department: Social ServicesLocation: University Hospital, Indianapolis, INShift: 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
- Indiana University Health has nearly 40,000 team members, including more than 3,600 physicians and 1,200 advanced practice providers, and we’re home to the largest nursing network in Indiana with more than 9,000 nursing team members at over 800 sites of care.
- IU Health is ranked No. 1 in Indiana by U.S. News & World Report, Riley Children's Health is ranked among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
- A unique partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine – one of the nation’s largest medical schools – gives patients access to groundbreaking research and innovative treatments, and it offers team members access to the latest science and the very best training – advancing healthcare for all.
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With 15 hospitals, including seven with Magnet designation and eight with Pathways to Excellence designation, our team members are leading the way through excellence.
- At Indiana University Health, your personal and professional growth is a top priority. You will have access to many diverse opportunities to learn and develop in meaningful ways that matter most to you, such as advanced clinical training, leadership development, promotion opportunities and cross training development.
- Indiana University Health is invested in the lives of Hoosiers, leading the transformation of healthcare to make Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states.
