Social Workers Across the Union Embark On Visibility Campaign
 | | Social Workers at New York Presbyterian Hospital |
In February, the Social Work Committee kicked off its Social Work Visibility Campaign in a union-wide event attended by over 50 social workers. In celebration of National Social Work Month, the Social Work Visibility campaign continued through March. Members in nine 1199SEIU institutions met to discuss issues of importance to social workers, and engaged both patients and coworkers in discussions about the various roles social workers play in the hospitals through visibility tables in the lobbies of their facilities. The Social Work Visibility campaign culminated a two-year partnership with NASW-NYC and was designed by the 1199SEIU Social Work Committee to bring attention to some of the conditions under which social workers work in healthcare settings and to the vital role social workers play as part of the inter-disciplinary healthcare team across the healthcare continuum. One theme of the Social Work Visibility campaign revolved around social workers demonstrating leadership inside our institutions through the many roles they play everyday in the lives of their patients and the patients’ families. The second theme was one of offering hope (i.e. health and healing, outreach and opportunity, planning and placement; and evaluation and education).
The campaign used posters and buttons on these themes to educate their co-workers and patients. The Social Work Committee also wrote and designed a brochure, translated into Spanish, Creole, and Chinese, that was distributed to patients, families, and community residents using the hospitals.  | Copies of the posters, buttons, and patient giveaways are available through the Professional & Technical Department. You can also get involved with ongoing professional issues confronting social workers by joining the Social Work Committee. If interested, contact Cynthia Wolff.
Show your professional pride and get involved in this exhilarating campaign. |
The campaign closed with the 2nd Annual Social Work Seminar held on March 29. The topic of the seminar was, “The Case Management Dilemma and the Changes in the Provision of Mental Health Services”. The seminar was attended by close to 100 social workers who were able to learn more about the case management dilemma from the perspective of both the social worker and RN case manager. A follow-up meeting is being planned to continue the discussions about how social workers and RN case managers can work more cooperatively together in the interest of quality patient care. A mental health expert also gave the participants needed insight about the changes in the mental health field as well as new ways to think about the ways they provide mental health services in a different and more efficient way. The highlight of the seminar was a panel with social workers from different settings talking about their various field experiences. This led to an open forum that allowed those present to engage in meaningful dialogue about possible solutions. A special luncheon in honor of social workers addressed the possible dilemmas with the current NYS licensing laws, but also the push on the federal level for the government to reinvest nationally in the social work workforce. Participants left the seminar energized and ready to work around issues of case management, mental health, licensing, and social work workforce re-investment. To bring this very exciting Social Work Visibility campaign to your health care institution, please contact your Organizer. You can also call or e-mail Cynthia Wolff, 1199 SEIU Professional & Technical Specialist at (212) 261-2368 or cynthiaw@1199.org. SOCIAL WORKERS INVISIBLE NO MORE!
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