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In This Issue:
Carey Robertson consults with a patient.
Social workers are key members of the interdisciplinary patient care team, who ease and mitigate psychosocial barriers to illness, treatment, recovery and transitions, while working with the hospital’s most vulnerable patients.
Kristine Leone, MSW, LICSW, is a BW/F Care Management Program (CMP) social worker. She works in partnership with nurse care coordinators, primary care physicians, psychiatrists and resource specialists on the CMP team with the goals of identifying, intervening and meeting the medical, social and psychiatric needs of patients that affect their wellness and recovery.
“One of the most important parts of this program is facilitating continuity of care as they go from hospital to home,” said Leone.
Another BWHer who exemplifies the work of many social workers across the hospital is Carey Robertson, MSW, LCSW, who works closely with the interdisciplinary team in the Spanish Clinic, and under the guidance of Manuel Herrera, MD, to addresses the complex psychosocial issues of the Latino and Hispanic population by providing an opportunity for patients to receive health care in their native language.
“Dr. Herrera fosters unity and collaboration among the members of team, and it creates an atmosphere of trust between providers and patients,” said Robertson, who along with the Spanish Clinic interdisciplinary team works to educate patients to improve their physical well-being, mental health and self-esteem to help promote self-advocacy.
The work of social workers expands to the distributed campus. Lara Sullivan, MSW, LICSW, the social worker at Brigham and Women’s Primary Care in BW/MGH Health Care Center Foxborough, works with a team that provides a patient-centered primary care experience. This team offers a collaborative care management approach to address depression, mental health, care management and health action planning around lifestyle choices that impact chronic disease.
“A collaborative clinical care management approach is crucial in a primary care setting,” said Sullivan. “Depression and other psychosocial factors can greatly impact a person’s health, well-being and ability to manage their chronic medical needs. We need to address these factors quickly, efficiently and, when appropriate, in an environment that a patient is already comfortable with.”
The BWH community is invited to join the celebration of National Social Work Month at Social Work Grand Rounds, Monday, March 28, 10–11:30 a.m., in the Bornstein Amphitheater. Rebekah Gewirtz, director of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, National Association of Social Workers, Massachusetts Chapter, will present “Social Workers as Powerful Change Agents.”