Why Join the Department of Social Work Guest Assistance Program/Patient Assistance Center team?

As a member of this team, you will assume leadership for educating, coordinating and assisting patients and families with identifying appropriate resources for environmental challenges related to healthcare. This role will provide centralized ownership of housing and lodging coordination for bone marrow transplant, CAR-T, and advanced gene therapy patients requiring temporary local lodging during treatment. The position will coordinate housing readiness, lodging plans, Medicaid and insurance lodging benefits, financial assistance resources, caregiver lodging needs, and ongoing housing support throughout treatment. The outcome of these services is to support patients and families, to help maximize their participation in and benefit from health care, and to assist in removing barriers to continuity of care.

The Department of Social Work strives to foster an environment of respect and belonging; a place where every person feels valued and can thrive. We are seeking a diverse candidate pool who is passionate about providing optimal psychosocial care to this patient population.

What Perks and Benefits Can You Look Forward to?

• 2:1 match on retirement savings
• Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage starting on day one of employment
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays
• Financial support for continuing education and certifications

You will be responsible for:

• Serving as the centralized point of contact for temporary local lodging coordination for Cell and Advanced Gene Therapy, bone marrow transplant, CAR-T, and related patient populations.
• Conducting initial and ongoing housing-readiness assessments to identify lodging, transportation, caregiver, financial, accessibility, and environmental barriers that may affect treatment, discharge, or outpatient monitoring.
• Developing individualized lodging plans in collaboration with patients, caregivers, social workers, nurse coordinators, financial counselors, and the multidisciplinary clinical team.
• Coordinating lodging arrangements before treatment, during hospitalization, at discharge, and throughout required local post-treatment monitoring periods.
• Supporting implementation of the IPOP model by proactively resolving lodging and caregiver barriers that could delay outpatient care, treatment progression, or discharge.
• Assisting patients and families with Medicaid, managed care, commercial insurance, transplant, transportation, lodging, and reimbursement benefits.
• Screening for and coordinating internal and external financial assistance resources specific to lodging and other healthcare-related barriers.
• Maintaining current knowledge of local lodging options, community agencies, disease-specific foundations, and patient assistance programs.
• Coordinating with lodging vendors, Medicaid transportation/lodging vendors, community partners, and internal departments to support timely and appropriate lodging placements.
• Provide patient and caregiver education regarding lodging expectations, caregiver requirements, local resources, benefit eligibility, documentation requirements, and available assistance.
• Communicate lodging status, unresolved barriers, and urgent concerns to the multidisciplinary team in a timely manner.
• Participating in care coordination meetings, huddles, or case reviews to provide updates on housing readiness and resource needs.
• Documenting housing assessments, lodging plans, patient/family contacts, referrals, benefit coordination, financial assistance applications, and outcomes in the appropriate systems.
• Maintaining tracking tools and reports to monitor referrals, lodging status, pending applications, approvals, denials, resource utilization, and unresolved barriers.
• Developing and maintaining standardized workflows, checklists, patient education materials, and referral processes for lodging coordination.
• Identifying recurring barriers, resource gaps, and opportunities for process improvement to enhance patient access, reduce treatment and discharge delays, and improve patient and caregiver experience.
• Practicing principles of patient- and family-centered care.
• Escalating complex psychosocial, safety, mental health, family system, or high-risk concerns to the appropriate clinical social worker.
• Participate in additional projects, initiatives, and duties as identified and assigned by departmental leadership to support the goals of the Department of Social Work, Rogel Cancer Center, and the Cell and Advanced Gene Therapy Program.

• Bachelor's degree in Social Work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
• Current State of Michigan social work license, LLBSW or LBSW.
• Brief psychosocial assessment skills and ability to identify patient/family needs, barriers to care, and appropriate resources.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse patient populations with complex medical, financial, housing, transportation, and healthcare related needs.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, analytical, documentation, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced healthcare environment.
• Knowledge of community resources and ability to navigate complex systems on behalf of patients and families.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and Access, or similar tools.
• Comfort using electronic systems for documentation, tracking, communication, and resource coordination.

• Experience in oncology, transplant, cellular therapy, complex care coordination, discharge planning, or patient navigation.
• Understanding of and ability to navigate complex systems and community resources
• Familiarity with electronic medical records and documentation standards.
• Experience navigating workflows, tracking tools, reports, or quality improvement processes.
• Knowledge of local lodging resources, disease-specific foundations, and assistance programs.
• Ability to manage high-volume referrals and time-sensitive requests in a fast-paced clinical environment.
• Understanding of healthcare insurance programs, resources and eligibility criteria
• Advances critical thinking, assessment and problem-solving skills
• Skilled in developing rapport and effectively communicating with a diverse patient population.

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

This is full-time, 40 hour/week position. The typical schedule is Monday-Friday with start and end times of 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.  Schedule may shift in the future to meet program requirements.

This position will work out of a primary work site location:

• Guest Assistance Program, University Hospital, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor

This position may be underfilled at a lower classification depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate.  Advancement through the career ladder at the Expert or Clinical Scholar Level is required for placement in the MSW Senior Classification

This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals (UMMAP), which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.