Last Friday my loving wife gave me two beautiful (if a bit early) baby boys.  After the wife got discharged from the hospital on Monday, we've been spending a number of hours each day in the NICU to spend some time with the boys.  Today, however, the hospital social worker stopped by while I was holding one of my sons and introduced herself.

When she said "Social Worker", my demeanor evidently reflected both surprise and displeasure with being bothered, especially by social services.  She noticed, quipped "What?" and started asking my wife some questions.  These questions were primarily about the pregnancy and prenatal care and whatnot.  All the information she was asking for I had personally witnessed my wife providing to other medical personnel over a half dozen times in the previous week, and was being checked off of a form the social worker had in hand.

On the drive home, my wife and I discussed this and we both found it odd that she was seemingly asking irrelevant questions (regarding medical history with her only being a social worker) and asking for information that she already had or could get from a file.  I mentioned my general distrust of the whole process and after reading stories on here, related that I believe social workers prone to go tilting at windmills.  My wife said the social worker would probably call to 'check-in' or clear something up.  Sure enough, tonight as we sat down for dinner, the social worker called to ask about a particular medication the wife had taken during preganancy, how many children the wife had before, and how her evening was going.  

So, riddle me this:

1. Why the fuck a social worker would need medical information about my wife.  I'm under the impression that information such as that is the sole dominion of medical personnel (of which she is not one), and in general is none of a social worker's business.

2. Why are these questions being asked when I KNOW that the information being requested is in my wife's file at the same hospital, and is definitely annotated on my boys' records as well?  I know the social worker not only had access to the records, but likely had a copy in hand?

3.  Why the hell would a social worker call in the evening in order to 'verify' seemingly innocuous information that likely could have been found upon cursory review of the aforementioned files or asked at a later dat

4. Am I being paranoid in distrusting this woman?

I have worked in a hosp for the past 15 years, but I don't know shit or shinola about social work.  Tag for interest.

Treat her like some hateful bitch who wants to steal your family. That's how my wife was treated when she was a VA social worker by damned near every patient she tried to help. Hospital social workers have god awful jobs.

Congrats on your new family, and I wish you all the best, but be nice to the social worker, she's doing her job like anyone else.

If I had to guess, she was asking because she can't get it from the files.


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I don't know, but you handled it better than I would have



I have a severely growing lack of patience for "professional" people that suddenly take an interest in my personal life who I believe shouldn't



What is even more disturbing to me is that when I resist and question THEM, their eyes go wide like nobody else has done that before

My thought would be that if the kids were early that maybe someone suspects prenatal exposure to drugs...Possibly illegal, or the abused prescription kind. Possibly fishing to see if someone is taking Oxy while pregnant? I think if she makes inquiries along the lines of medication, especially painkillers; your wife should be prepared to challenge her about where she is going.

Innocent until proven guilty in America...Unless you are the focus of a bureaucrat with nothing better to do.

Or she could just be checking to make sure that your wife isn't suffering from Postpartum Depression.

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Why is there a "social worker" involved?

Is this person an employee of the hospital? or are the a .gov employee?

Not being nosy, but are you paying the hospital?

...thus, are you paying this social worker's salary by paying the hospital?


see where I'm headed with this?


ETA: The social worker at my dad's VA hospital worked miracles for us when he had to do about 6 weeks in-patient physical therapy after an accident, so I'm not bashing social workers in general here.

A.) Did you ask her what her purpose in asking questions was, or what her job was with regards to your care?

and

B.) She was probably independently verifying information for her own progress note in your hospital chart - virtually everyone does this to some extent (including when patients are transferred into or out of various floors in the hosptial, or when consults are made).

Social workers can be pretty helpful at our hospital - I haven't seen the in the OB area, but on med-surg floors, they help plan and coordinate rehab, home heatlh, PT/OT, family matters, etc.

What is their job, exactly. And what authority do they have?

It was more in relation to a particular thyroid medication. Something I find to be well outside the purview of a social worker.  

The boys were early because they were twins and my wife was experiencing HELLP symptoms, so they had to come out.  

If the social worker shows her face again, my wife said she'd handle it.  I trust she will.  The situation just caught us by surprise and really left us unprepared.

Apologies to your wife, but that'd be exactly my reaction.  MYOFB.



My wife gave birth to twins a month premature.  Fortunately they were 5lbs 11 oz and 6 lbs 2 oz and NICU was not needed, but one of my boys was jaundiced and needed an extra day in the hospital.  If anyone came around asking questions like that, they'd definitely get the Clarence Beaks FO response.



 

Just playing devil's advocate, the hospital has probably been threatened with or even actually sued by people they didn't "help enough."

Thus the existence of social workers.

You are probably going a bit off the deep end  a bit, though I would likely do the same as I don't like strangers walking up and asking personal questions. She is probably working off some checklist that has nothing to do with you in particular. Unless there are other issues you aren't mentioning, like past CPS issues or drug/alcohol issues, you don't have anything to worry about in my opinion.

There are some very fucked up people in this world and they frequently have children. Trust me there are enough crack hos and 15 yo illegal aliens having kids with their 42 yo second cousin to keep social workers very busy.

Theres nothing more dangerous to your liberty than a do gooder  (in their own mind)with an axe to grind......

This. See HIPAA.



 

It sounds to me like the Social Worker ISN'T looking to Help you.

No prior CPS issues as that would neccessitate the requisite children; these are our first.  We are both degreed professionals and have this fucking situation on lock.  My wife is going to get to the bottom of this tomorrow, since we'll be seeing the boys in the morning.  Introductions are one thing. Saying "hey, here's what I do and if you need me, call" is one thing.  Calling during dinner time to see how my wife's evening is going and asking about a thyroid medication that has nothing to do with either social work or the condition of my twins is out in fucking left field.  

I've tentatively placed the social worker in the "Man-hating thunder-cunt" category until she is proven benign.  I'll let the wife handle it as long as I don't hear the social worker asking about guns in the house.  Then I get to come unglued.

The fact that you were married and involved enough to actually be there and helping in the hospital stay process for your family would put you about as low on her radar as you could get.  I'm guessing it's a required thing for her to do as a part of her job, and while mildly invasive, just answer her questions and get on with the lives of your family.  I vaguely remember something similar, but I think it was taken care of by a NICU nurse in our case.  I think you're reading way too much into the situation.

I saw that she had the file with pertainent info like names, address, phone numbers, etc.  

My question is WHY would she need and/or want medical information?

Here's a link to a cool research paper written by a student about how social workers played an instrumental role in selecting victims for Nazi extermination.

Social Workers are not inherently good.  They are government stooges who will fuck over whomever they are ordered to fuck over.  Their only interest is in themselves.

My guess is that since your wife had a couple of premies, Social Services perked their head up and started wondering if this happened because of some form of irresponsible behavior on the part of your wife that would lead them to believe that your home is unfit for raising children.



They may not be out to get you, but she didn't come by because it's standard procedure. You are, or at least were suspect.


 

+1

Social Workers were the foot soldiers of the nanny state do gooders during the beginning of the Progressive era in the US. They were the ones poking their noses into everyone's business to try and figure out what unacceptable behaviors were causing them to be poor during the Gilded Age and then telling people how to live their lives.



 

FUck te social worker.

Congrats on the kids. Sorry about having them in the NICU. My first spent 99 days in the NICU. It was hard but the people that work in there were very, very helpful and have one hell of a hard job.

ETA- What the hell was the SW doing in the NICU? With ours ONLY the parents and people the parents brought in could get in. Not even my father who has worked at the hospital for 30 years and is on the board was allow in without us. We had to make him her cardiologist so he could go in a see her every day when we were not there. Tell SW to wait the fuck outside!!!

I wouldn't.



Social workers hold all the cards. If they want your kids, they can pretty much take them away.





 

Actually, I read the boys' charts and an entry on a checklist was 'Social Services Consult'.  I asked the nurse about that and she said that it was standard for everyone.  Make sure the parents applied for birth certificates, knew about WIC, etc...

I just think she is being more intrusive than I feel is neccessary.

Why didn't you ask her what the purpose was? It may have been an innocent and welcome service. Was she working for the hospital or the government?

I gotta imagine I would be suspicious too. Seems like a good reason to just plain ask.

So what exactly is their job?  If there were obvious signs of meth or beatings, that would be one thing.  Can't we just leave people alone unless there is a problem?

Nothing really sent my spidey senses tingling until the call tonight and reflection with my wife on the whole interaction.  I suppose when you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when you're a social worker, every man looks like a wife-beating child molester who needs public assistance.

1) Social workers in the hospital are considered part of the medical team. Information is kept for statistics in many cases. Also, some people feel "safer" talking to a social worker about lack of prenatal care since most people think the SW is who can help with that problem.

2) Same reason you get asked 15 times about "how did your kid hit his head" and "what medications do you take", repetition makes sure everyone got the same answers and nothing was missed.

3) Probably for stats/record keeping. Also, they may be part of the post-hospital care team and the questions would help with discharge planning.

4) Slightly, yes.


Don't get me wrong, I've met a few asshats in SW, but for the most part they are dedicated professionals with a really crappy paycheck.

ETA: ROFL  my wife calls me the hammer too

Trust your instincts.  Fuck social workers. I deal with enough of them in my line of work to know that the vast majority are fucking leftist wack jobs.

None of your business is any of her business.

I find it pathetic that some here are suggesting to "answer her questions and make it easy on yourself".

Are you fucking kidding me, people? Is this still fucking America?

Tell her to mind her own business.  That is all HIPAA Protected information.

This, tell her this word for word if she makes contact again.  I don't get why everyone is telling you and your wife to give all your medical info to a .gov official.  I mean if you don't mind them having their own medical files on you go for it.  

Do they let you know that you can Refuse Social Services Consult??

Typically they are Useless.

It's possible that you're completely overreacting, and may have a very common misconception about what social workers do. When I was a travel nurse, I worked in one NICU for months on end. There, the social workers were involved in every case that came through. Mainly, they were there to be an extra resource for the families, and to help with plan of care for after discharge. They deal a lot with insurance companies in most cases I'm familiar with, and if they establish that the children will have special needs of any kind when they're discharged, they will help set up home care, etc. Many of the NICU's I've come into contact with will also send a nurse for a well check-up as a courtesy to all families and the social workers were in charge of setting this up as well - again - to help with any continuing care the babies might need. Thus, being as though you stated your children are in the NICU, it's possible that a social worker visit is protocol for the facility they're in.

A note on social workers in general. They get the bad reputation of being the people who take people's children away from them. This happens because mainly they're the people who decide when to refer a case to CPS. However, social workers are a very important part of the medical team. For our ER, they help find transportation for follow-up appointments, help people without insurance get enrolled in special programs to help pay for doctors visits and prescriptions, refer to community health and educational resources for families, and sometimes even make calls to doctors offices for people who can't pay for expensive specialist visits to get the offices to give them a break. I realize that there are bad social workers just like there's a bad person in every profession, but they can really be your best friend.

We had very positive experiences with the SW during my FIL's end of life care. But, the function of the SW was clearly understood. Having another person come up during a stressful time and ask the same questions with no obvious purpose only adds stress.



To the guy who's wife is a SW, maybe she should find something more rewarding? I am sorry for the level of distrust she experiences. Perhaps end of life care would be more to her liking.

Working in social services (i'm a therapist), I can tell you to avoid social workers.         90% of the courses they have to take are about "social justice".    You figure out the rest.

I would say this.  Due to HIPPA unless you are actively involved in patient care patient information is not to be shared.  The social worker technically cannot get information about your wife or newborns unless they suspect some sort of criminal activity, like abuse.  

Also you might be able to receive some government assistance if the babies were born premature.  In NC it is a one time check for like $600 I believe.  It is not based on income, just a one time payment you receive.  When the children are ready to go home, you might receive home health care visits.  The social worker may put you in contact with local home health agency, once every couple weeks a nurse comes to your home and takes the children's weight, etc..

My wife is a social worker, our daughter was born a month early and in NICU.  My wife basically answered the questions and said we did not want any help, that was the end of it.

And her job included asking redundant questions and bugging people?

ETA - This is another reason we had our three at home.

Hospital social workers are great to have around when a loved one dies. Most people need a lot of help getting through that process.
 

Amen.  If I need any social services, I know just who to call.  Beyond that, they can leave me and mine alone.  If they keep going down this rabbit hole, they can take a step back and literally fuck their own face.  

Tomorrow we will question the neccessity and appropriateness of her questions.  Also, if she is considered a part of the boys' medical team, I should be able to review any notes she made as a result no?

ETA: The wife nixed the idea of turning our garage into an operating suite and I'll be damned if I'd allow it on the hardwood floors.  Had to go the emergency c-section route.  Preeclamptic and breech, there was no way around it.

My wife is a LMSW at a Methodist Hospital and doe's clinical social work there. She is asleep now so I can't ask any questions but I could have her respond to this thread tomorrow after work if you wish. Odds are it's just hospital protocol and nothing more.
Not all social workers are tree hugging, commies. My wife has actually gone to the range with me and votes Republican.

Wow. I'm glad that it worked out ok.



Probably. We are mandated to get all kinds of info when working a case so that one doesn't get an incomplete picture when looking at the file, and it's always during a bad time or we wouldn't be there in the first place. If she wasn't tactful then she needs to fix that.





You should be able to decline social services. Happens to me periodically.
 

Yup. You're at the mercy of the system. Play the game or cede it all.



 

Hospital worker != CPS worker






 

Understood.  They are but the first step down that path.  

Now that I've heard from folks in the know, I'm less alarmed.  I just find the whole process unneccesary and unwanted.  I still take issue with a non-medical individual asking probing medical questions and, more to a point, interrupting my dinner just to ask stupid fucking questions.

You had twins.  You are in for a helluva ride.  She was probably trying to see if you had a support network.


My twins turn five next month btw.  Congrats.

Congrats of the young 'uns!!!! You're in for the 'ride 'o your life'.



"I'm a social worker"



"Yeah? Well, piss off"



Seriously.