When families think about nursing home care, nurses, physicians and therapists are usually the first professionals who come to mind. But behind many of the conversations, decisions and transitions families experience is another essential member of the care team: the social services professional.
They help residents adjust to a new environment, guide families through difficult decisions and keep communication moving between everyone involved.
In other words, they are often the people helping all the pieces come together.
What Does a Nursing Home Social Worker Do?
The role reaches far beyond paperwork.
Social workers and social services professionals help address the emotional, social and practical needs that can affect a resident’s health and quality of life. Their responsibilities may include:
- Helping residents adjust to a new care environment
- Participating in personalized care planning
- Communicating with residents, families and care teams
- Supporting residents experiencing anxiety, depression or behavioral changes
- Connecting families with healthcare and community resources
- Advocating for residents’ preferences, rights and goals
- Assisting with discharge planning and care transitions
- Providing guidance during difficult family conversations
Every resident arrives with a different history, support system and set of needs. Social services professionals help the care team understand the person behind the medical chart.
New Research Highlights Their Impact
A nationwide study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association examined the relationship between social services staffing and quality outcomes in U.S. nursing homes.
Facilities averaged just 5.84 minutes of social services time per resident each day.
Researchers found that each additional minute was associated with greater odds of receiving a higher quality star rating. Increased social services staffing was also associated with fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits in the study.
These findings show an association, not definitive proof that adding a specific number of minutes will automatically produce better outcomes. Still, they add to growing evidence that psychosocial support is an important part of high-quality nursing home care.
Another study published in JAMA Network Open in 2026 examined 2,491 nursing homes and found that employing qualified social workers was associated with lower restraint use, particularly in facilities serving more residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The message behind both studies is clear: supporting residents means caring for more than their physical health.
Why Their Work Matters to Families
Moving into a nursing home can bring a lot of emotions and questions.
What will daily life look like? Who should the family contact? How will the care team understand a loved one’s preferences? What happens when it is time to return home or move to another care setting?
Social services professionals help families work through those questions.
They can explain processes in plain language, bring concerns to the interdisciplinary team and help create a clearer path forward.
They also help families understand that care plans are not static documents. A resident’s needs, abilities and goals can change, and the plan should evolve with them.
Social Services and Care Planning
A strong care plan considers the whole person.
Medical needs matter, but so do emotional well-being, family relationships, personal routines, cultural preferences, living arrangements and the resident’s own goals.
Social services professionals bring these factors into conversations with nurses, physicians, therapists, dietary teams and other members of the care team. Their insight can help everyone work from a more complete understanding of the resident.
That collaboration is especially important when residents are living with dementia, behavioral health concerns or complicated family circumstances.
Helping Residents Through Care Transitions
Transitions can be some of the most stressful moments in healthcare.
A resident may be arriving from the hospital, preparing to return home or moving into long-term care.
Social services professionals help coordinate these transitions by:
- Identifying potential challenges before discharge
- Connecting residents with community resources
- Helping families understand care instructions
- Supporting communication between care settings
- Making sure resident preferences remain part of the conversation
While families may only see the final plan, social services teams are often doing a great deal of work behind the scenes to help make that plan possible.
Recognizing the People Who Help Care Feel Personal
At Empire Care Centers, clinical excellence and genuine compassion go hand in hand. Our social services teams are an important part of that promise.
They work alongside nursing, rehabilitation and other care professionals to support residents as individuals, strengthen communication with families and help guide important care decisions.
If your family has questions about skilled nursing, rehabilitation, long-term care or the support a loved one may need, connect with the Empire Care Centers team. We are here to listen, provide clear answers and help you determine the right next step for your family.
Sources
- Siddiqi, Zahida. “The Rising Importance of Social Services in Nursing Homes.” Skilled Nursing News, published August 11, 2026.
- Davlyatov, Ganisher K., John R. Bowblis, Aizhan Karabukayeva, and Christina R. Miller. “Social Service Staffing and Quality of Care Outcomes in US Nursing Homes.” Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 26, no. 12, 2025, article 105924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105924.
- Chen, Yutong, Ling Xu, Wei Jiang, and Noelle Fields. “Staffing of Qualified Social Workers and Nursing Home Quality of Care.” JAMA Network Open, vol. 9, no. 2, 2026, article e260074. Published February 25, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.0074.
- National Association of Social Workers. “NASW Standards for Social Work Services in Long-Term Care Facilities.” NASW Practice Standards and Guidelines.
