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In This Issue:
Galen Henderson, MD, director of Critical Care and Emergency Neurology, knows social workers play a vital role in the relationship between a patient and his or her family.
“There’s a different bond that social workers have with a family,” he said. “The bond is more personal, more focused on the whole family constellation.”
At the ED, social workers also play a key role in comforting families at times of distress.
“Social workers find out what a patient needs and then help them get it,” said David Gitlin, MD, director of the Medical Psychiatry Division for BW/F. “They have a unique perspective on people’s needs, and they provide consistent psychological support for patients and for staff.”
March is National Professional Social Work Month, and social workers around the hospital are being recognized for the essential clinical role they play in providing quality care.
They are professionally trained clinicians with unique expertise in assessing complex patient and family dynamics and bio-psycho-social stressors within the demanding and often overwhelming context of a medical crisis.
In celebration of the month, the Department of Social Work is joining social workers across the country to celebrate the profession, reflect on its history and acknowledge the important work being done to help patients now in these difficult and challenging times.
BWH has 50 licensed social workers who are just a call away day or night, weekend or holiday. The entire team covers 14 services, including: medicine, renal/renal transplant, surgery, neurosciences, cardiovascular, thoracics, CWN, infectious disease, hemophilia, oncology, BIMA, psychiatry and ambulatory.
Jeffrey Robbins, LICSW, a veteran of the profession for 31 years, said that the Department of Social Work’s emphasis on teamwork enables excellent patient care service.
“That’s what is special about social work at BWH: the dedication and commitment to excellence across the board as well as the enthusiasm with which people approach their work,” he said.