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Liz Spurrell, MSW, a Passageway domestic violence advocate, dedicates two days a week to meeting with adolescents who come to BWH Obstetrics for prenatal or gynecologic care. She talks with them about violence, healthy relationships and available services at BWH and elsewhere.
“A lot of women have no frame of reference for what is healthy because they may have grown up surrounded by violence, and many of their peers are in the same confusing situation,” Spurrell said. ”With no experience to draw from, we aim to give them that experience.”
Spurrell’s role in Obstetrics was developed with the assistance of a Thomson Compassionate Care Scholarship award. Staff in OB/Gyn, Care Coordination and Passageway wanted to address the growing incidence of violence in the lives of these teen-age girls and young women and help them navigate all the services and programs available to them.
“One of our biggest concerns is the normalization of violence in our patients’ lives, so our goal is to get them to talk about it and understand how damaging it is to their overall health,” said Margaret Tonelli, MSN, NP.
Spurrell is in OB twice a week on the busiest days of the practice. On those days, patients can see her that day, and that eliminates the need to schedule a separate appointment with a Passageway advocate. “Having Liz here is essential so patients don’t have to make another appointment somewhere else,” Tonelli said.
This service goes beyond the physical care that brings these patients to BWH in the first place. “Meeting with Liz gives young women the opportunity to talk about the violence they see in their lives, be it with their partners, their families or in the community,” said Sarah Gale, LICSW, clinical social worker in the Young Women’s Health Clinic, who works with Spurrell to offer this resource to patients. “This is an empowerment-based model that focuses on healthy relationships incorporated with a healthy lifestyle.”
Spurrell works closely with Tonelli, and Gale, and midwives Annie Conquest, CNM, and Glynnis Gracia, CNM. They identify patients who could benefit from meeting with Spurrell and identify their needs beyond physical care. Spurrell and Gale provide this service with Passageway advocate Lucila Leone, LMHC, directing these patients to social service agencies, helping them with housing issues and other challenges. Social work interns Gayle Hoisington and Katie Pratt assist in this team effort, too.
“We’re really excited because this gives our patients who need it most a stable resource to help them make healthy decisions and improve their quality of life,” Gracia.