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The Social Services Department has provided services at Hennepin County Medical Center since 1914. The Social Services mission is as follows: Social Services supports the continuum of health care services within a dynamic healing environment by providing compassionate and individualized social work services to patients and families, promoting justice and access to services, and helping mobilize resources within patients and their communities. The Social Services Department exists to address the psychosocial aspects of health care including health care access; discharge planning; safety related to abuse, neglect, violence, and chemical health; case management and continuity of care; advocacy; grief, loss, and adjustment issues; crisis response; caregiver education and support; and patient and intern/resident education. These services are provided to all inpatient areas of the hospital, except psychiatry, and all outpatient areas except psychiatry and acute psych services (social services in those areas are provided by their own social workers). In addition to the traditional services to patients in medicine, surgery, peds, ob/gyn and labor & delivery, intensive care, neurology, cardiology, ortho, renal, rehab, and the burn units, specialized services are provided for HIV/AIDS patients, brain injured patients (both adult and pediatric), sexually abused children, domestic violence victims, and a community-based family practice clinic. Social Services professionals promote a healing environment
through their committment to caring for the patients , the families and
the health care team at HCMC. The social service staff assess the cultural,
social/emotional and community needs of patients to provide the appropriate
intervention. They partner with communty agencies and patients to offer Social Services personnel help patients navigate the multiple hospital and community systems they encounter while encouraging patient autonomy. Staff are committed to justice and equality for all patients and to enhancing patients' lives within the context of health and healing. |
