To the Editor:

Whom do you consider to have strength? Every individual, family and community has strengths that help them face life’s difficulties.

When challenges loom for an individual, family or community, the tendency is to focus on what is wrong and how it got that way. However, social workers look at challenges through a unique lens. By focusing on the abilities, resources and supports that are available, social workers assist people during challenging times. Social workers support American families and communities by providing connections between the areas from which people draw their strength – home, health, family, friends and community.

March is National Professional Social Work Month. Social workers encourage people to focus on the strengths and resources they have that will enable them to achieve their goals. This year’s Social Work Month theme – “Social Workers Change Futures” – promotes the role of social workers as positive agents of change.

“There are 640,000 professional social workers in the United States who have dedicated their careers to either helping people transform their lives or improving environments that make such change possible,” said Elizabeth J. Clark, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers.

Hospice social workers are trained professionals who specialize in helping patients and families when a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Dealing with a terminal illness involves more than symptom management and patient comfort: it involves added responsibilities to family members, difficulties with coping, major decisions concerning care of the patient, increased concerns about financial matters and legal issues, possible needs to relocate, and so on.

Please join us in saying “thank you” to all the social workers who deal with the unique needs of terminally ill patients and their families. Because of their expertise and caring nature, social workers are a great resource and tremendous asset for patients and families at a very vulnerable point in their lives. Thank you, social workers, for advocating for those who face serious life challenges and for your tireless devotion to their well-being.

To read more about social workers and their role in helping people help themselves, go to www.HelpStartsHere.org.

BRENDA W. HOGGARD

Administrator, Hospice Services

University Health Systems

Home Health and Hospice