March is Social Work Month, and here at Unicity Healthcare we want to take the opportunity to recognize the many licensed social workers who serve our residents faithfully. Social workers are unsung heroes of senior care. They connect older adults with community resources that help them to safely maintain their best quality of life. These dedicated, compassionate individuals care for an aging generation whose members don’t often get the personal attention they deserve. Thus, during the month of March we would like to pause and acknowledge the work of this dedicated group of professionals.
Recognizing Social Workers
The official theme for this year’s Social Work Month is “Social Workers: Leaders. Advocates. Champions.” According to the National Association Of Social Workers website (NASW) every day the nation’s 650,000 social workers act as advocates, champions and leaders who make our society a better place to live.
National Social Work Month is an opportunity for social workers across the country to put the spotlight on their profession, and highlight the important contribution they make to society.
Social Workers: Helping Seniors In Many Ways
The role of the social worker is to enable each individual to function at the highest possible level of social and emotional wellness. The range of responsibilities include: admission planning, transitioning residents from their previous living situation, advocacy, upholding residents’ rights, determining medical treatment wishes, assessment and care planning, complaint resolution, crisis management, discharge planning, coping with disease and disability, and end of life support.
Social workers provide invaluable services to our seniors. It would be impossible to list all the ways in which our social workers help residents, but here are just a few of the countless instances where the role of social worker is so important to our community:
- When a resident suffers a loss (such as losing a loved one or a lifelong friend) a social worker is there to encourage grieving, all while encouraging staying connected with life.
- If a resident is suffering from isolation or depression, a social worker makes sure he or she receives the appropriate care and access to resources.
- When it becomes necessary for a resident to transition to a different level of care, a social worker ensures that the move goes smoothly; offering support and comfort to both the resident and their family and loved ones.
- When a resident has a serious medical event or passes away, a social worker provides compassionate counseling for the resident’s loved ones and friends in the community.
- Within the entire community in which a social workers serves, their role is an invaluable source of knowledge and experience.
This week we honor Linda MacDonald, who is a Senior Advisor and Social Worker at Unicity Healthcare.
Linda has been a licensed social worker for over 35 years. In the video below, you can hear what Linda has to say regarding what social work means to her, as well as how Unicity Healthcare has provided her with a wonderful opportunity to use her years of expertise towards helping the elderly community she is part of.
We Support Our Social Workers
We are truly grateful for our wonderful social workers, and we want them to know how much we support them and value their contributions. We recognize the important work of our own social workers, as well as those nationwide, to increase the quality of life for seniors everywhere. Thus we are honored to take the time to express our gratitude for all that our Social Workers do.
Unicity Healthcare says “thank you” to our Social Workers; we celebrate the caring, compassion and hard work that each of them display towards residents, clients and family members. Their guidance, advocacy, and dedication help make each day better for those in need.