I don't know that she was concerned about our support network.  I think she was more concerned that I named the twins Walker and Texas Ranger.  

We just want to get them home soon and I'll be damned if I'll be bothered by anyone, much less a social worker, on the way.

LOL.....good fer y'all!!  

Thins thread makes me glad I had my kids 12 years ago.

My wife has been told not to tell them anything!



The hospital refused to discharge my youngest son (in 2009) until we (my wife and I) had taken a 2 hour CPR course. I told them that by state law, they were kidnapping my son. After a 30 minute conversation and a threat to call my lawyer, they let the little bundle of joy come home!





I am so tired of the libtards in our society!!!

My daughters were both born early, one two months'ish early and the youngest was three weeks early. During the first one my wife was tranfered to UAMS in Little Rock once the local hospital decided they were out of their depth. During the admission process a Social Worker came by the room and basically accused me of spousal abuse and my wife of drug abuse all in one conversation as the cause for the problems my wife was having carrying to term. My wife told her to FOAD and I asked her to leave the room. A different one came back after the delivery and did the same line of questioning but, more subtle. Pissed me off....

Next time you read about some incident involving a newborn homicide by some low-life family member , you'll probably know where such investigative interviews  as were described originate.

The social worker for my hospital only meets with the patients if its requested by the staff, Doc, or the patient themselves.  Although the hospital I am attached to does not deliver babies.  The bigger hospital up north did not send in the social worker after my twins were born.  
I would imagine the SW for the hospital you were at has a policy requiring them to speak to everyone (Just a guess).

As for Walker and Texas Ranger.  I tried to use those names as well.  My wife shut me down.  So I settled with Gladiator and Skull Crusher.  
Unfortunatly, every time I brought those names up.  My wife said that I was giving her a headache.  (I still call them that when I want to get her goat)

We're heading back to the hospital and hopefully will ask the right questions today.  I'm significantly more at ease with the situation than I was yesterday.  But just because I may be paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.

No, you are not being paranoid.  Did she ever volunteer, or did you ever ask, what her authority is to require this information from you and/or your wife?

I share medical information with my doctor and my doctor only.  If a "social worker" asked me for anything - and I mean anything - I would politely decline to respond.  I don't care if it's "hospital protocol" or whatever they want to call it, it's my information and I'm not inclined to share it with someone whom I don't know.

I only skimmed this thread, so forgive me if my post is parroting what others have already stated.

I'm currently a medical social work (almost three years) and was a marriage and family therapist for five years prior to my current gig.  I'm actually in the hospital ER at the moment, so my post has to be brief.

We have SWs in our FAMILY BIRTH CENTER and the NICU.  I never cover those areas, as I'm an MFT by training and policies (state, I think) do not allow an MFT to cover those floors; however, I do have to cover them if absolutely needed.  So, while I am not fully versed how they do things there, I do know that the SW should always introduce themselves and tell you why they are there making contact with you.  At least, that's how I do it as a fullt-time FLOAT social worker.  What you described did seem a bit weird to me, but you could of straight out asked her what her purpose was in her making contact and if there were any concerns.  I'm all about being transparent, unless there's something crazy going and it would more prudent to take a more covert approach, which is not typical.  

At any rate, SWs are typically called into action on the FBC/NICU floors when the mother has tested positive for drugs, there is abuse occurring or there is some crazy ass shit going on at home that will put the kid in harm's way.  Makes sense, no?  It's the NURSES on those floors that tend to go bat shit crazy over small shit, not our SWs.  So, they end up dealing with A LOT of non-issues, but, hey, that's the way it goes.  

I LOVE my job, as I don't have to carry a case load like I did before and help people when they need it the most, especially when trauma cases come into the ER or someone is dying.  I'm there to offer support, information guidance.  Plus, I get to see crazy shit and how crazy it can be out there on the streets.  Plus, there are A LOT of pro-gun people that I enjoying talking to.  And, I get paid WAAAAY more at this gig, which I love doing.

Take care, brother, and just ask direct questions next time if you feel that something is not kosher.

Oh, shit!  I'm a medical social worker and didn't know that I should be doing the above!  I didn't get the memo!  

Uh, not really.  

That's cuz they're not gearing up for an extermination at the moment. Just collecting information for their files. Continue doing your job and conforming to evolving policy as it is handed down.



 

Perfect.  You have now been identified as a possible agent against the state.  IP information being uploaded to state mainframe.  Thank you.

Wow. Lots of derp in this thread.
1) Licensed clinical social worker's or medical social workers are a part of the medical team and at least at a lot of good hospital's meet with every inpatient admission or those directed by nursing or medical staff. They are often called to assist to help with community resources, times for coping, etc.
2) They generally have full access to the chart and all labs just as nursing or medical staff would
3) They can not just "take your kids". As someone who has seen a LCSW call CPS for someone who basically strangled their kid in front of a hospital employee and later ended up walking out with their kids in their custody
4) A lot of times social workers are tasked to trend things for either the hospital or pharmaceutical companies. Here is a high risk OB who is taking medication and they may be trending hypothyroidism and high risk OB cases or the sort.
5) A lot of SW"s will follow up via phone to give you one more chance to speak with them if necessary. From your post it sounds like you may be a tad bit overbearing so perhaps one of the nursing or medical staff asked one of them to speak with your wife to ensure there is nothing else there.

Thats all.

In the clinic I work at we have 2 social workers.  Our clinic specifically deals with patients afflicted with a chronic and non curable Neurological condition.  The 2 social workers do alot of work with patients in regards to helping them with many different things.   Things like helping them get handicap placards, help with insurance, getting Durable Medical goods (powerchairs, etc.), coordinate other medical services outside of our clinic (infusions, PT/OT), and thats just the tip of the iceberg.  They have the same access to protected health information that I do (I work in administration for the clinic), the doctors, and the nurses.  

So i can at least tell you that, no, there is no violation for them to have access to medical records as it is necessary in many cases for them to do their job.  

As to what specifically their role is to the hospital, I couldn't tell you as that will vary from institution to institution.

in our clinic they are NOT employees of State Social Services.  They are employees of our clinic hired by the Medical director.  

eta: and holy shit there is alot of retard in this thread.

For some reason we had a social worker come visit us after our daughter was born.  It so happened when my wife was asleep.  Her original reason for being there  was to ask if we needed assistance, but when she started asking questions about the home environment I told her to pound sand and don't come back without a warrant.

I'll take "Never invite the man into your life for $1,000" Alex.

You're a new dad to two delicate babies, and you have a wife recovering from surgery.

Your fucking JOB is to be paranoid.

Her fucking job as a hospital employee does not revolve around her understanding that fact, but it's included among her duties.

1. None. I have never heard of  asocial worker coming into a hospital situation without them being consulted.
2. She shouldn't have access to the records unless there is reason. It sounds like a HIPPA violation to me.
3. None at all
4. I would distrust her too.

One size does not fit all.



I do it for free as a hobby.
 

This thread is damn near full retard.

Sorry. HIIPA violation.

eta: Sorry. Congrats.

You don't have to answer her questions, but beware, if she is a .gov employee, that will be a red flag, and she'll start working you even harder.

Just a little snapshot of this morning:

1) Newborn baby stopped breathing.  Parent performed CPR.  Parent and baby in ER.  Sw providing parent with emotional support, called family for parent and helping them cope with the stress they are experiencing.  SW arranging hand off to NICU Sw so that they are aware of what's going on.  No intrusive questions on SWs part, only support and helping them to not "lose it."

2)  Pt with MH issues is out of meds.  Pt from the heartland of the US.  Pt has no insurance.  Sw to help him get connected to MH system and to community resources.

I looooove my job!

I missed this bit.  This was not "SOP" on our L&D floor.  Sounds like lazy action of a Doc or Nurse who puts that on every record.  


THe thyroid medicaiton bit was also out of her perview.  THat would be more appropriate as a nursing follow up.

If you did not specifically release or authorize her to have the medical records, I think you have something to worry about....

We use social workers as counselors and case managers: offer counseling to people who don't want to talk to the chaplain, to help find out of hospital support programs the patient is interested in, to find placements for patient in rehab, assisted living, long term care, and hospice. Our hospital doesn't deal much with children though.

About 21 years or so ago, I was spending quality time with my wife and our firstborn in the hospital in their "family room"... My wife was walking back to her room and I was pushing our daughter in her bassinet. A nurse walked by and asked how I liked being a new dad and me, being stupid and trying to be funny, said "oh I hate kids".

I knew I was joking. My wife knew I was joking. The nurse sent a social worker up to see us and we wound up seeing them for a couple weeks because I was in the military and they were following protocol.

I'm keeping my mouth shut in damn hospitals now.

...moreover, the field is awash in former psychology majors.

But WHAT exactly is the "Social Workers" job?

1. Because babies in the NICU are often born to welfare baby-momma's that do drugs, or have inadequate prenatal care, either because they're poor, ignorant, or they do know where to go, (free clinic programs etc.) but just didn't give a shit and spent 9 months living off Mt.Dew and Twinkies and meth etc. And the hospital may have a standing policy that all NICU cases get a visit from social services.

2. HIPPA. You may be wrong about what she has access to. She may not legally be able to review the medical records, if a non-authorized person does so, it can mean millions in fines for the hospital, and fines and jail-time for the responsible official for those records. Seriously bad ju-ju, even doctors/nurses who are authorized to view records can get into deep shit if they view the records of people who's care they're not involved in. So to get that info LEGALLY, she may need to ask you, and see if you voluntarily give it.

Or... it's just an interview tactic, because the ghetto bird neglect prone parents will lie like dogs, and tell her tons of contradictory info to what she already knows what's in the records.

3. Because they're just sniffing around to see if #1 is the case, and sometimes even if it's a "good family" like yours, having a newborn in NICU may be overwhelming, devastating, (if a good outcome is unlikely) and beyond their ability to cope. So maybe some help might be warranted if the family is having a breakdown over it and they genuinely want to help.

4. I won't say you're wrong for being paranoid over it. Although I suspect the social worker is just shitty at her job in terms of being diplomatic.

A SMART social worker would say, "Hi, I'm a social worker, and the hospital always sends one of us around whenever an infant is in the NICU. Sometimes because it's a poor single mother, but when it's a normal family like yours, we're checking in to see if we can help, if you're overwhelmed. How are the babies doing? Oh? That's so good. I'm glad you're expected to have such a good outcome. That's obviously not always the case for everyone in here. Here's my card..."

Then she chats you up for ten minutes to get the info she wanted, and then she's on her merry way.

I'd just chalk it up to not being that good at her job, and maybe burnout from dealing with shitbird parents all day who are lying about drugs, abuse, neglect etc. Kind of like the cop who's dealt with 10 crackheads earlier in the day, and treats the one clean-cut guy going home after work he pulled over for a moving violation like crap. Doesn't make it right, but one can understand how it happens.

Good post above.

Your experience in YOUR particular field, maybe so, but you are making broad sweeping (and incorrect) assertions of the field as a whole.

If she's new at her job she may be running down a checklist and asking absolutely everything on it versus knowing what simply isn't important.



Sounds like she needs to learn some tact.






 

To help people in their times of stress.
The particulars depend upon the context.

All I got from this thread was that a social worker is violating hippos.

 

Similar thing happened when our second son was born 11 years ago.



Bottom line is the worker is looking for two things. Bad parents they can save by enrolling in .gov parenting classes (don't choke your baby out when they cry, etc.) and leeches they can fill the welfare rolls with to justify their existence.

Didn't read this all, but I can tell you at pretty much any hospital I have worked, that sort of a visit would have been initiated by the staff nurse who admitted your wife.  



She checked a box for a social services "consult".  Our nurses might do that if they have any concerns about things like safety in the home, safety of the child due to various factors.



Not saying that was the case here, for certain - as that hospital might simply initiate a SS consult on all new labor admits.






 

This is right on.





 

Okay, I just got back from the hospital.  One of our sons took a bit of a step back today, but I was able to talk to the nurse manager for the NICU.  The nurse manager actually met us at the isolettes when we walked in because she was told we had a bit of a setback today with one of the boys.  After getting all the info out of the docs and nurses, I asked her for a few minutes.  In her office, after laying out basically what had happened and posing the same questions I posted here, I was able to narrow down a few points.

Social Services consult is a routine thing at the hospital there. No big deal.

The nurse manager didn't know why the SW would be asking about medical info, but because the SW was part of the team, she did have access to HIPAA info in all relevant files (understandable).  However, the SW may have been asking questions that weren't on the boy's records because some info didn't make it over from when my wife was admitted (okay, I get that part.).

The nurse manager did say that it was odd that the SW would call us at home after having spoken to us not 5 hours prior.  She then asked my permission to contact the SW's supervisor to find out what was going on.  I then asked if any SS consult was optional and was told that it was.  I then made it quite clear that the last thing we needed during such a trying time in our children's care was a non-medical lady poking her nose around and tilting at windmills based on whatever agenda she may have.  The nurse manager said she'd handle it and completely understood my distrust of not only the SS process, but the SW herself.  Evidently, the nurse manager's son is FBI counterespionage and she gets the same thing from him all the time.  

In short, problem should be solved and the nurse manager would be requesting any records from the SS for me to review.  The NICU staff here is pretty good and I really like the manager, who really strikes me as a straight shooter that is well-versed in patient rights.

Ok, but what exactly is her job in this setting, and who hired her?

Sounds like a busy body sticking her nose into peoples' business and calling it "social work."

If I didn't ask for you or hire you, go away.

The hospital hired the social worker to handle aspects of care that the nurses and physicians don't have time for.

What is their purpose in this setting - I'm not sure where you are located, but in my city the main university hospital is the only NICU and surrounding area hospitals often have to refer their high risk patients there.  That means lot of people end up with their newborns in hospitals that are located far from home, and social workers are there to help families find housing, coordinate stays at the hospital, prepare their home for any special concerns with premature kids, etc.

Again most of my experience has been with social workers in med surg floors, but they absolutely have a purpose as part of the care team.  But take  a minute to consider that maybe the black helicopters aren't out to get you just yet.