December 2015

Inside this issue

v Scholarship

Recipients

v Letter from the

President

v Educational

Events

v Jobs

v Social Work Hero

v Announcements

v Social Work News

v Current Board

Members

SswlHC Washington Newsletter

2015 Scholarship Recipients Madeline was

born and raised

in New England

and recently

moved to Seattle,

WA, to attend the University of

Washington for her master’s degree in

Social Work. She is a proud part of the

2015 Advance standing cohort and

concentrating in Health. She received her

BSW degree in 2015 from the University

of Vermont. Her past experience in social

work includes working with people with

disabilities, working in child welfare in

NYC and medical case management in a

community health setting. This year she is

completing her advanced practicum at

Overlake Hospital Medical Center on the

telemetry and Oncology floor. She is also

part of the 2015 Carol LaMare Program at

UW. She enjoys hiking and practicing

yoga.

Nika is a student at the University

of Washington in her second year

of the MSW day program, Health

Practice concentration. She was

born in the USSR and raised in

Ukraine before she moved to the US to attend

college. Before entering the MSW program, she

earned her BA from the University of

Washington, completed a graduate international

summer program at the University of Oslo, and

upon returning to Seattle, served as an advocate

for victims of sexual assault and child abuse, and

as an outreach worker at a public health non-

profit, connecting community members to health

care resources. In her first year of the MSW

program she completed her practicum at an

outpatient dialysis center. This year she is excited

to be placed at the Seattle VA, as a member of the

Spinal Cord Injury care team. When she comes

across some free time, she loves to escape into the

mountains with her husband Daniel, to enjoy

hiking, backpacking, and motorcycle riding.

Lorem Ipsum

Current Board Members • President: Sandra Johnson, Swedish Cancer

Institute

• President-Elect: Tricia Matteson, Swedish Cancer Institute

• Past President and Membership Chair: Rachel Dieleman, Swedish Medical Center Social Worker

• Secretary: Nicole Nevey, Evergreen Health Social Worker

• Treasurer: Jenny Ruff, Kline Galland Palliative Social Worker

• Communications Co-Chairs: Madeline Cody and Nika Gannon (student representatives)

• Education Chair: Linda Brandeis, VA Social Worker

• Co-Chair Education: Janine Julien, Swedish Social Worker

• Social Health Policy: Bertha Santilan, Swedish Social Worker & Sharon Mast UWMC Social Worker

• Scholarship Chair: Sima Kulshreshtha VA Social Worker

• Technology and Social Media Chair: Asher Grimness, St. Joseph Peace Health Social Worker

• Member at Large: Natasha Kap, Evergreen Health Social Worker

• Member at Large: Halee Dams, Franciscan Hospice Social Worker

• Member at Large: Wei-Lin Huang, UWMC Neighborhood Clinic Social Worker

• Member at Large: Leticia Holleman, VA Social Worker

• Member at Large: Caroline Mass, SeaMar Health Social Worker

• Member at Large: Matt Gockel, Harborview Medical Center Social Worker

1

Our first Social Work hero is a

long-time health care Social

Worker at the University of

Washington Medical Center,

Marilyn Wood, who has donated a

substantial amount of money to

establish a fund titled “Endowed

Fund for Social Work

Excellence.” This fund will

support professional development

and recognition for health care

social workers and in turn will

help UWMC recruit and retain

stellar staff for the Department of

Social Work and Care

Coordination. Marilyn’s

contribution is a great reminder of

just how crucial social workers in

the field are in supporting the

social work field as a whole. The

fund is not to supplant

institutional support for

continuing education, and in fact,

it is restricted to national or

2

international conferences and

educational events, or, as in a

recent situation, allows for UWMC

to bring in a national level speaker

for the Social Workers educational

benefit. Our vey own Brian

Giddens and Director of Social

work and Care Coordination at

UWMC adds, “I think it highlights

a long-time health care social

worker who is “giving back”

specifically to help other health

care social workers given the

enormity of out work.” Marilyn’s’

goal is to continue to see this fund

grow and impact the lives of health

care social workers and their

patients.

Want more information? Contact info: Marilyn Wood Creator of the Endowed Fund for Social Work Excellence mawood@uw.edu 425 598-6887

Social Work Hero

Marilyn Wood

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Job Highlights

o Medical Social Work 1 – Harborview Medical Center Emergency Department. .05FTE, Posted: 11/03/2015

o Social Work Assistant II- University of Washington Medical Center. 1.0FTE, Posted: 11/06/2015

o Social Worker- Puget Sound Kidney Centers. Posted:

11/04/2015

Letter From The

President

During this time of year, where we watch the suffering of many and the confusion of those living in fear; we as Social Workers are front and center offering comfort and understanding; educating those who live in fear, advocating for social justice for all. We believe there is a place for all diverse cultures; practicing cultural humility. Offering of thanksgiving go to: Brian Giddens (UWMC Director, Social Work & Care Coordination) Bertha Santilan (Swedish Case Management Social Worker) and Sharon Mast (UWMC Oncology Social Worker) for coordinating an excellent and informative Legislative Health Care forum. Their offering of CE focused on education, healthcare and advocacy. Of note, Bertha and Sharon are the Social Health Policy chairs for the Society. Angela Lim, (Highline Oncology Social Worker) Education Chair, Puget Sound Oncology SW Network for coordinating education around Palliative Care: When Goals of Care Change. Linda Brandeis, Chair of the Education and Leticia Holleman, (both VA Social Workers) for their work in coordinating the March 2016 Annual Education and Resource fair focusing care for veterans. Maddie Cody and Nika Gannon (Student Scholarship recipients) for production of our newsletter. Maddie and Nika were appointed co-chairs of Communication. Asher Gimness, Chair of Social Media: o Facebook (have you “Liked” us yet?) o Web site: http://sswlhc-wa.org o Google group: sswlhc-wa@googlegroups.com And to all the new board members of the Society acting as Board Members at Large offering the expertise and support in their specialty practices; which will shine through the activities of the board. If you have interest in contributing to the Society of Social Work Leadership and its membership please reach out. Possibly you and your colleagues have a healthcare topic that you would like to present to the membership? Or an article you would like to pen providing news and education. A letter to the editor? We welcome your commentary and ideas. Many Bountiful Blessings to all! Sandi Johnson, LICSW SSWLHC President Manager Oncology Social Work, Swedish Cancer Institute sandijohnsie@gmail.com or sandras.johnson@swedish.org

December, 2015

announcements

Educational Event: March 17th, 2016 We are looking forward to a great educational offering for Social Work Month on March 17th, 2016 at the Mountaineer’s Club at Magnuson Park. We are also looking forward to a great vendor fair to help us celebrate SW Month at the same time. Out speakers this year come from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System: Dr. Lisa Vig speaking on ethics in health care; Ana Fisher, LICSW speaking on access to VA care; and hopefully someone from the VA Homeless Program Primary Care Clinic. We are excited to learn about the resources of the VA this year at our annual meeting and educational offering. Please look for registration information right after the holidays. Looking forward to seeing you at this coming event. Linda Brandeis VA Social Worker SSWLHC Education Chair lbbike@comcast.net

The WA Quit line says right now, they don’t care what kind of insurance a patient has. If a person calls the quit line, they will give then up to 2 weeks of free patches, gum, or lozenges to help them quit smoking.

1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669

Event Recap With great success, the annual SSWLHC Legislative Action Workshop was held on November 4th. The workshop welcomed over 49 social workers and MSW students from throughout the community. The 3-hour workshop provided 3 sessions with presenters that hold a breadth of expertise around health and human services legislation in Washington State. The workshop kicked off with Senator Jamie Pederson (D) from the 43rd district providing an update on the outcomes from the recent general election, including the $930 million “Move Seattle” transportation levy. Senator Pederson spoke to the current political climate and dire need to increase education and mental health funding. His session concluded with tips on making a meaningful impact, such as meeting with a legislator from your district both during and between sessions or sending a concise email that is solution focused. Cassie Saurer, MSW, Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Government Affairs for the Washington State Hospital Association provided an overview of the successes achieved during the 2015 session and the impacts they will have on health care access, service and delivery. With the passage of SB 5175, which ensures payment for services provided using telemedicine technology, Cassie posed the thought provoking question of how MSW’s can use telemedicine to enhance service delivery? Cassie concluded by discussing “Healthier Washington” Washington’s 5-year health innovation plan to transform healthcare. Stay tuned for more about Healthier Washington. The workshop concluded with Nancy Amidei, MSW, delivering an energetic call to action presentation. Attendees were provided with tools on identifying and contacting elected officials, helpful hints on preparing a 30-60 second speech for talking with elected officials and ideas on how to incorporate advocacy into busy lives. Whether it’s signing up for legislative alerts, contacting an elected official via email or phone or talking with others about key bills, we can all practice advocacy.

Questions? Comments? Would like to contribute to the newsletter in the future? Please contact: Madeline Cody Madelinebcody@gmail.com Or Nika Novak Pal4life@gmail.com

SAVE THE DATE !

DID YOU KNOW?

Compassion & Choices of Washington is now End of Life Washington. Services provided remain the same, including information and support for those interested in accessing the Death with Dignity Act. 206-256-1636, www.endoflifewa.org

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