How do hospital social workers help patients and families? “When people don’t know what to do, they call us,” says Kathleen Wade, Ph.D., M.S.W., A.C.S.W., Director of the University of Michigan Health System Department of Social Work and Assistant Dean of the University of Michigan School of Social Work. “Social workers are great at problem-solving, identifying the right resources, accessing those resources, and providing alternative solutions.”

In some hospitals, the major role of social workers is discharge planning. For the dedicated staff of social workers at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, discharge planning is very important, but the social workers also help patients and families in many other ways, including education, support, and prevention.

Sandra Iaderosa, M.S.W., Social Work Manager in Pediatrics, says, “A family is like a mobile. Everyone is in balance until something goes wrong.” Social workers are there to help adjust to a “new normal” and to return some balance to their lives.

There are a variety of ways that social workers help restore balance. Often the work starts before the family even arrives at the hospital. Pre-admission work may include contacting interpreter services or setting up lodging for the many families who travel to Ann Arbor from other states or even other countries.

"LIFE CAN CHANGE IN SECONDS"

Premature birth is definitely one of those unexpected events. Seven years ago, Mary Palmerton’s twins spent 99 days in the Holden Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (Mary’s older daughter also spent time in the NICU after her birth.) Mary still recalls the support that Janet Allen, M.S.W., Clinical Social Worker, provided. “I adore Janet. She really takes fabulous care of the families,” Mary says. One of the ways Allen helped was by stopping in every day to see Mary. “It was the highlight of my day to see her smiling face,” she remembers.

Mary also benefited from the Neonatal ICU Support Group that Allen runs once a week. “Janet is wonderful at facilitating support for families,” Mary says. In fact, she still stays in touch with some of the other moms she met in the support group.

Social workers are integral members of specialized medical teams throughout the hospital and clinics. “Most people don’t realize that social workers are so specialized,” Iaderosa says. Social workers are experts in the challenges patients encounter with a particular illness or situation. They also help families anticipate the next steps in their children’s illnesses. “Social workers teach diabetes patients, along with the dieticians and the nurses, about the impact of their illness,” Iaderosa explains. “The entire family may need to adjust to the demands of a new diagnosis. Social workers can help support families through these transitions.”

COORDINATION AND CONTINUITY OF CARE

Social workers are an important part of each phase of an illness or injury. They help patients and families with education and coping throughout their care. Social workers also coordinate a tremendous amount of discharge planning to ensure that services are in place in the child’s community when he or she is ready to go home from the hospital.

Families often stay in touch with their social workers even after children have recovered. Many families share their appreciation in notes. One grateful family says, “It is nice to know that someone is looking out for you when you are too emotionally lost to think about, let alone know, what is needed for yourself.” Another parent says, “There were times that I couldn’t have made it through had it not been for our social worker’s support.”

Whether it is a family coping with an unexpected trauma or a child traveling from the other side of the world for a scheduled surgery, social workers are there to meet the needs of patients and families and to provide support during difficult times.