Sample Op-Ed
Hope and Health – Help Starts with a Social Worker
By [Name, Title, Organization]
Receiving the diagnosis of an illness can be a confusing time for anyone. Will I be able to handle the treatment? How will I balance my care with the needs of my family? How will this affect my job? Who will help me figure all this out?
This year’s National Social Work Month theme – Hope and Health: Help Starts Here – is the answer to many of these questions. Social workers have the right education and training to help patients navigate the confusing world of health options.
With nearly 37 million people admitted to hospitals in 2004, social workers serve many of these patients during their hospital stay. As an integral part of many interdisciplinary teams, working closely with doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, social workers become the advocate for the client for the right course of action.
A social worker’s commitment to a client starts with diagnosis and continues through recovery and beyond. Social workers see a client through a holistic lens. More than just treating the physical effects of an illness, social workers are aware of the other psychosocial issues that play into the client’s treatment and recovery and help them overcome those barriers to complete health care.
[Optional Section – provide the name of a social worker in your community that has made a difference in working in health and his/her accomplishments.]
[Insert the word “SAMPLE” behind background of this proclamation]
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