Admissions Assistant (Full Time)

Job Title: Admissions Assistant

Department: Social Services

Reports to: Admissions Director

General Purpose:

This position is serves as a patient liaison which includes a combination of admission responsibilities as well as social services responsibilities. This position is customer service based with a heavy emphasis on problem solving and continuous quality improvement.

Qualifications:

• Must have High School Diploma or equivalent. Experience in health care or clerical

setting preferred.

• Must have knowledge of: casework process; needs of geriatric patients; medical settings, social and health resources of community, and funding resources such as Medicare, Medicaid and private insurances.

• Must be sensitive to patients physical and psychosocial needs.

• Must have ability to follow oral and written instructions.

• Must be a self-motivated, creative and positive personality, who demonstrates

willingness to learn new ideas and skills and can work as part of a team.

• Must possess patience, good organizational skills, and assertiveness and be a

conscientious person.

• Must present a professional appearance.

• Must be able to handle emotionally stressful situations day in and day out, including,

• but not limited to death and dying.

• Must be able to cooperate and work well with fellow employees.

• Must be knowledgeable of computer systems, system applications, and other office

equipment.

• Must be able to meet all local health regulations and pass pre/post-employment physical

exam if required. This requirement also includes drug screening, criminal

background investigation and reference inquiry.

• Must attend in-service/education programs as required to learn new procedures and develop skills to meet regulatory compliance.

• Must agree not to disclose resident protected health information and report suspected or known violations of such to the Administrator.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1) Assist in admissions process including interviewing residents, families, or responsible parties and obtaining required admission information and signatures.

2) Build and maintain good working relationships with patients, family members, community agencies and other employees.

3) Assist in the preparation for new admissions, ensuring room readiness.

4) Maintain inquiry and admission packets ready for use.

5) Assist in maintaining accurate records of available beds.

6) Take new admission inquiries.

7) Give tours to prospective clients and others.

8) Maintain relationships with patients and families in order to facilitate early identification of potential problems. Maintains close relationships with other departments to appropriately resolve grievances.

9) Make follow-up customer service telephone calls post discharge. Notify Social Services Director and Administrator of all significant issues.

10) Educate and assist patients in executing advanced directives/advanced care planning.

11) Ensure that mentally incapacitated patients have a designated health care decision

maker to execute their rights.

12) Assist in referring patients and families to appropriate social service agencies when facility does not provide the service or needs of the patient. Consult with Social Services Director as needed to accomplish this.

13) Perform casework with patients and families, consisting of basic counseling,

encouraging family participation, and other items as necessary to meet patient’s needs.

14) Complete required documentation such as admission note, social history, and document significant concerns/events in medical record.

15) Assist patients and family members in obtaining services needed to assure continuity of care after discharge. Issue transfer/discharge letters and Non-Coverage letters as required by Federal Regulations. Maintain a current community resource guide.

16) Attend facility meetings as required.

17) Keep Administrator and Social Services Director informed and up to date on current status of significant patient/family issues.

18) Maintain communication with facility business office and medical records to ensure accurate census and payment of managed care residents.

19) Participate in the admission process: including pre-admission assessment, rate negotiations, benefit verification, cost analysis, and reporting as needed.

20) Assist patients in financial planning, including disenrollment and/or Medicaid applications as requested/needed.

21) Maintain a good public relations program that serves the best interests of the facility and community alike.

22) All other duties as assigned.

Physical and Sensory Requirements:

Walking, sitting, standing, reaching, stooping, bending, lifting, grasping, pushing and pulling, and fine-hand coordination. Ability to hear and respond to overhead pages. Ability to communicate with residents, families, personnel, vendors, and consultants. Ability to apply training and in-service education provided. Must present a neat, clean, professional appearance and demonstrate a positive approach with employees and residents.

Every effort has been made to make your job description as complete as possible. However, it in no way states or implies that these are the only duties you will be required to perform. The above statements reflect the general duties considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job as identified and shall not be considered as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or is a logical assignment to the position.