(064) Pathways to Gaining an Embedded Social Worker on a Consultation-Liaison Service

Abstract: Background/Significance: 
Multidisciplinary consultation liaison (C-L) psychiatry services are known to be effective and cost-efficient. Licensed clinical social workers can be a particularity valuable addition to these teams. Responsibilities of such providers on the C-L service may include (but are not limited to) linkage to outpatient care, provision of direct patient care such as brief bedside psychotherapy, and collaboration with patient's families. However, through anecdotal reports, many C-L teams are not able to secure a licensed clinical social worker position due to administrative and financial barriers. 

Methods and

Results:
Our consultation-liaison service, located at a large, urban, tertiary/quaternary care hospital, was able to secure funding for a licensed clinical social worker by collaborating with Division of Trauma, Burns, Critical and Acute Care. Using consent analysis of key informant interviews with at least ten providers from various disciplines, we will present the administrative strategics we used and the institutional tipping points which led to the creation of this role. We will also describe the social worker's responsibilities on the service, and qualitative data regarding the value of the role. 

Discussion:
There is little research on administrative pathways to expand interdisciplinary consulting teams as funding and staffing models are often unique per institution. Additionally, C-L psychiatry services rarely have financial avenues to be self-sustaining, often resulting in restrictive budgets. Our experience suggests that it is in fact possible to overcome such barriers by using creative and integrative strategies focusing on the needs of key stakeholders. 

Conclusion/Implications: 
Our experience may serve as a roadmap for other institutions seeking to add an embedded licensed social worker to their C-L teams. When attempting these types of service line expansions, interdepartmental collaboration can lead to identifying share needs and potentially generating sources of funding. 

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Presentation Eligibility: Not previously published or presented.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Access to psychiatric treatment is a privilege for many, specifically those with low social economic status. By adding an embedded social worker to a Consulting Liaison Team there is potential to reduce some of this disparity; not only providing comprehensive outpatient referrals for continued psychiatric care but also, providing supportive/psychotherapy services with or without psychiatric medication to address hardships experienced in the hospital setting.