UnityPoint Health logo
UnityPoint Health
Waterloo, IA, US

Social Worker MSW - Emergency Dept

Social WorkerNo weekendsFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · Monday – Friday

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 43m ago · Verified live

Job Description

  • Social Worker – MSW/Case Management - Emergency Dept
  • Shift: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30PM, 1 Holiday per Year

Benefits Eligible

The medical social workers job is to perform assessments with patients to assess for any physical, mental, or emotional needs. They assess the family support system and link the patient with services to help with care if needed.

The social worker can also provide assistance with financial concerns such as not being able to afford medications or pay household bills. Some social workers provide counseling to patients who are suffering from depression or who are having difficulty coping.

A social worker links and makes referrals to agencies to assist the patient with all of these services.

Why UnityPoint Health?

At UnityPoint Health, you matter. We’re proud to be recognized as a Top 150 Place to Work in Healthcare by Becker's Healthcare several years in a row for our commitment to our team members.

Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you’re in. Here are just a few:

Expect paid time off, parental leave, 401K matching and an employee recognition program.

Dental and health insurance, paid holidays, short and long-term disability and more. We even offer pet insurance for your four-legged family members.

Early access to earned wages with Daily Pay, tuition reimbursement to help further your career and adoption assistance to help you grow your family.

With a collective goal to champion a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected, we honor the ways people are unique and embrace what brings us together.

And, we believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is a vital part of delivering an exceptional employment experience.

Find a fulfilling career and make a difference with UnityPoint Health.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain the patient’s treatment plan throughout the patient’s course of treatment with input from the care team

Keep patient family or others informed as to the patient’s progress throughout treatment as the patient desires.

  • Complete and update safety plan
  • Lead psychoeducational groups
  • Assist in inpatient and outpatient programming
  • May assist in patient rounding
  • Primary responsibility for coordinating care to facilitate discharge
  • Make necessary referrals
  • Provide patient education relating to post-acute levels of care/services
  • Assure patient’s SDOH needs are met for an effective discharge plan
  • Coordinate pharmacy and outpatient services follow up
  • Assure that patient has a 7 day follow up post discharge
  • Align transportation and follow up with natural supports on behalf of the patient
  • Participate in all required trainings and educational activities
  • Participate in department level meetings and huddles
  • Be responsive to email, phone messages and patient portal messages

Qualifications

Education

Master’s degree in Social Work required

Experience

2 years relevant social work experience in a health care setting or similar.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Patient assessmentTreatment planningCrisis interventionReferral coordinationDischarge planningSafety planningSDOH assessmentPharmacy coordinationCare coordination

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Social Worker MSW - Emergency Dept at UnityPoint Health a 6.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Social Work — ranked against 6,477 active Social Work listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Social Worker Career Context

Of the 50 active Social Work listings this role was benchmarked against, 56% are remote, 16% have no call, 70% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Iowa is 87.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 59.8% of Iowa clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Social Work by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score6.0 / 10 · above average in social workranked against 6,477 Social Work listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Listed paynot listedSocial Work median $75k (middle half $65k–$86k)314 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingIowa index 87.8US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Social Work listings in Iowa56 active6,550 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 56% remote · 16% no call · 70% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedUS Social Worker listings: 9% state a sign-on bonus (median $5k) · 5% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
New Social Work listings2,568 in the last 30 days1,507 the 30 days before (+70%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (6,477 Social Work listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Social Worker Jobs

38 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

32 jobs · 18 employers
7
<$120k
13
$120k-125k
6
$125k-135k
6
$135k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

30 jobs · 18 employers
401k / retirement match
93% this job
Sign-on bonus
30%
CME allowance
30%
Loan repayment
7%
PSLF eligible
3%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Full Time, Day)

NorthBay Health · Fairfield, California

$58.21-$70.76/hr
#2

FFS Clinical Supervisor - LCSW

Northeast Family Services · New York, New York

$62-$70/hr
#3

Medical Social Worker - Population Health (Full Time, Day)

$55.87-$67.96/hr
#4

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

$123k-$141k
+ 36 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 5.1this job 6.0
Better work-life than 70% of Social Work listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 6,477 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
UnityPoint Health logo

About UnityPoint Health

51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

Paid time off
Parental leave
401K matching
Employee recognition program
Dental and health insurance
Paid holidays
Short and long-term disability
Pet insurance

Living in Waterloo

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$171k
Typical market rent
$909/mo
Residents’ average commute
16 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
87.1
State income tax
Up to 6%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.