20 Hot Job Tracks: Social Work: Home Health Social Worker
SOCIAL WORK HOME HEALTH SOCIAL WORKER Shortened hospital stays have created a growth niche for social workers: making sure discharged patients get follow-up care at home. As the Medicare system has shifted to paying a fixed rate per illness, thus encouraging hospitals to move patients out, home health care has boomed: Between September 1993 and March 1994, the number of Medicare-approved home health agencies jumped by 431 to more than 7,300. Social workers hired by the hospital or home health agency typically evaluate the client's living conditions and need for continued medical and psychological care and arrange for care when necessary. The average assignment consists of two or three visits. Visits by home health social workers jumped by 20 percent last year.
HOT TRACK SALARIES (average) Entry: $17,500-$30,000 Midlevel: $20,000-$39,000 Top: $25,000-$59,000
TRAINING. A master's degree in social work (M.S.W.) and experience in a health care setting. A social worker who holds a bachelor's degree must work under the supervision of an M.S.W.
BEST PLACES. Southeast, especially Florida, which has a lot of senior citizens. Also, rural areas.
OTHER HOT TRACKS. Employee assistance counselor, child welfare counselor.
SALARY SURVEY COUNSELOR IN A RESIDENTIAL FACILITY $28,000 MENTAL HEALTH OUTPATIENT COUNSELOR $31,000 SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER $32,500 HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKER $34,200 MEMBER, GROUP PRACTICE $40,000 UNIVERSITY SOCIAL WORKER $46,500 SOLO PRIVATE PRACTITIONER $50,000
Note: Average salaries for 1993.
USN&WR: National Association of Social Workers, Visiting Nurse Association, Health Insurance Association of America, Health Care Finance Administration
This story appears in the October 31, 1994 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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