Kenia Alcantara
I love what I do because every patient comes with a different dynamic and different challenges. That’s helped me stay committed to this work for the past eighteen years. When I see my clients in their home environment, I go with an open mind and try to understand the patient’s point of view. You see the whole person that way. To bolster trust, I make some follow-up calls in front of patients. The key to successful social work is creating an alliance, so that the client knows we are there to assist. As medical social workers, we help our patients and their families adjust to the impact of illness on their daily lives, and help put the appropriate services and supports in place so they can have the best quality of life possible.

Following the launch of VNSNY’s interdisciplinary team “pods” last year, I now collaborate on cases with my fellow pod members during our weekly conference calls. I’ve gotten to know the nurses and rehab therapists I work with much better. It’s been a great innovation. As a fluent Spanish speaker, I especially love helping clients learn to navigate a system for themselves. When I’m with a frail elderly woman who speaks no English and is overwhelmed by paperwork, I can break everything down for her and make it manageable and obtainable. Seeing her “light up” with understanding, is a great feeling. If I can help my clients become more independent, then I’ve done my job.

Marilyn Dos Santos
My job is to help hospice patients and their family members adjust to what’s going on, and give them a sense of control. A big piece of what I do involves reassuring patients and their families, and helping them find the strength to tolerate difficult and often unwelcome life changes. The role of social workers in hospice is to help families negotiate uncharted territory.

I always tell patients that in hospice we work as a team. The nurses help them with the stress inside their bodies, and I help them and their family members cope with the stress outside their bodies and give them a sense of control. To encourage families to open up, I like to use humor. I’ll ask patients and family members to “pinkie swear” about something. Nine times out of ten they’ll laugh, and then they’ll shake pinkies with me. While I don’t try to fix everything—I do try to get families to share their feelings and work through them. My goal is to help everyone come together so their loved one can feel more peaceful during his or her last days.

My work may also involve arranging for home attendants and making sure advance directives are in place and understood. If everything is going smoothly, hospice social workers will typically check in with their clients every couple of weeks. When it gets closer to the end, though, we visit more often, because that’s when they really need us. Patients need help acknowledging what’s happening, and families need help with their feelings of helplessness and uncertainty. Often we’re the ones who are preventing them from calling 911 and rushing their loved one to the emergency room. To help lessen families’ fears, my colleagues and I have a book we share with families, describing end of life symptoms. I also remind them that hearing is the last thing to go, so they should keep talking, sharing funny stories with their loved one and reminding them of happy times. That way you’re leaving them with positive memories.

Grace Owen
Like all VNSNY CHOICE social workers, I provide telephonic support for residents throughout the New York metropolitan area as well as upstate, across all CHOICE product lines. My cases are referred either by CHOICE Care Coordinators or by the CHOICE Call Center in response to plan member calls. I frequently deal with members who have mental health issues—depression, schizophrenia, and other psychiatric conditions. I administer depression screens over the phone and then link members to additional mental health services as needed, either within VNSNY or elsewhere in the community. Other times the issue may involve concrete services. I help members and their family caregivers navigate Medicare and Medicaid, make sure their prescription drug plan is in place, and arrange things like food stamps or housing. Sometimes I’m just giving support, listening to their concerns and encouraging them to do something they enjoy. I also work closely with the VNSNY CHOICE Coordinators of Care, keeping them informed of what my interventions are and tracking what’s happening in terms of medical follow-up. When I’m working on a specific situation, it’s not uncommon to speak with a member and their family on a daily basis. It’s all about using communication skills, listening carefully to each person and engaging them. To be able to assist someone in resolving their issues and knowing that I’m helping to improve their lives in some way, is something I really enjoy.