March is regonized as National Social Work Month. Hospice of the Rock River Valley would like to thank and celebrate our local hospice social services team, Alisa Wolf, Becky Highbarger, and Cynthia Stringer.
This is also an opportunity to explain and celebrate the role of a Hospice Social Worker. Many people, even if they understand the hospice concept, aren’t aware that hospice care is provided through a team approach and that social workers are essential members of that team.
Hospice social workers are part of the core services, working with other team members, addressing the physical, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual effects of a person living with a terminal condition.
Social workers build a trust and relationship with the patient and family, during a time of crisis and vulnerability. With this understanding and trust established, the social worker can best help the family manage this difficult experience. Patients and families can be devastated in so many ways by the dying and death of a loved one. Hospice social workers help meet a family’s basic needs by educating and advocating for the patient and family.
Hospice of the Rock River Valley, a United Way agency, is the area’s non-profit freestanding hospice. For more information about services and benefits of hospice care, call 815-625-3858 or visit www.hospicerockriver.org.
Photo: Hospice of the Rock River Valley social services team (left to right) Becky Highbarger, Alisa Wolf, and Cynthia Stringer.