Full-Time Discharge Planning Associate – Clinical Care Coordination (UPMC Hamot)

UPMC Hamot is seeking a Full-Time Discharge Planning Associate to join our Clinical Care Coordination team. This role plays a vital part in supporting safe, timely, and effective transitions of care for hospitalized patients.

About the Role

The Clinical Care Coordination team partners with patients, families, and the interdisciplinary care team to develop individualized discharge plans once patients are medically stable. This position works directly with patients at the bedside to complete assessments and determine the most appropriate next level of care to support a safe discharge from the hospital.

The Discharge Planning Associate collaborates closely with internal teams, external agencies, and insurance providers to coordinate services, obtain authorizations, and ensure continuity of care across the healthcare continuum.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in social work or nursing strongly preferred

Schedule

• Shift options include 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (8-hour) or 7:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (10-hour)
• Requirement to work two weekend days within a six-week period

Sign-On Bonus

• This position is Sign-On Bonus eligible, offering a $6,000 Sign-On Bonus with a two-year employment commitment.

In collaboration with the Discharge Planning team, this role coordinates support services and resources across UPMC to facilitate effective discharge plans that achieve optimal patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and financial performance throughout the continuum of care.

Responsibilities:

• Identify clinical, psychosocial, historical, financial, cultural, and spiritual needs that guide the planning process with the patient to attain optimal outcomes. 
• Take patient/family/caregiver level of health literacy into consideration. 
• Evaluate patient/family/caregiver level of understanding and engagement with the progress toward goals and incorporate findings into the plan of care. 
• Balances resources with patient preferences and goals of care. 
• Evaluate the potential impact of social determinants of health that may elevate the risk of a poor transition.
• Complete detailed assessment on every patient in order to establish understanding of medical and social factors, determine patient's capacity for self-care, identify support systems, outline barriers to discharge, and determine likeliness of requiring post-hospital services and the availability of such services. 
• Continually reassess discharge plan for factors that may affect continuing care needs or the appropriateness of the discharge plan.
• Facilitate teams to develop and execute safe and efficient discharges. 
• Maintain knowledge about area resources and their capabilities and capacities as well as various types of service providers available. 
• Ensure appropriate arrangements for post-hospital care will be made before discharge and work to avoid unnecessary delays in discharge. 
• Integrate patients' goals, the health care team's assessment, risks and available resources in order to develop and coordinate a successful transition plan.
• Engage in clear communication with the patient/member/caregivers as well as the interdisciplinary care team in order to develop discharge plans. Serve as a liaison between the patient and the care team. 
• Actively collaborate with the attending practitioner, caregivers, and other members of the multidisciplinary team to coordinate an individualized plan of care. 
• Incorporate discipline-specific recommendations, test results, outstanding orders into discharge plan and monitor/revise and respond to the progression of discharge milestone.
• Serve as a contact between hospitals and post-hospital care facilities as well as the physicians who provide care in either or both of these settings.
• Recognize and demonstrate shared accountability in development of a discharge plan with the patient/member/caregiver as well as with team members to ensure optimal outcomes.
• Align practice with the mission, vision, and values of the organization. 
• Adheres to ethical standards and codes of conduct of applicable professional organization and UPMC. 
• Maintain clinical knowledge of and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Advocate on behalf of patient/family/caregivers for services access and for the protection of the patient's health, well-being, safety, and rights.
• Manage cost of care with the benefits of patient safety, clinical quality, risk and patient satisfaction to provide recommendations and decisions that ensure optimal outcomes.
• Embrace and incorporate innovation and technology to improve collaboration and patient outcomes. 
• Document care in patient medical chart.
• Provide staff orientation and mentoring as appropriate.

• 1) Diploma or Associate's Degree in Nursing OR 2) Bachelor's degree in social work or another health or human services field that promotes the physical, psychosocial, and/or vocational well-being of those being served required. 
• No license required.
• Experience: 
  • No experience in discharge planning/care coordination. 
  • Clinical/patient-facing experience preferred. 
• Knowledge and Skills: 
  • Excellent communication skills required. 
  • Must be skilled in planning/organization, follow up/control, problem solving, self-development orientation, organizational behaviors/competencies. 
  • Must possess the ability to apply principles of logic and critical thinking to a wide range of problems and to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables. 
  • Comfortable working both independently and as a team member. 
  • Proficient computer skills. 
     

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:

• Registered Nurses employed in this position are required to maintain active RN license.
   
• Act 34

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran