March is National Social Work Month – We Offer Our Thanks

In March, we celebrate EvergreenHealth's social workers, who provide skilled, compassionate and practical care for this community – in our hospitals, in patients' homes, our clinics and in four local high schools.

When I joined EvergreenHealth in 1998 as an Emergency Department/CHAT Social Work intern, I felt privileged to join an organization that was doing so much for its community. When I moved into a per diem role as a Hospice Social Worker in 1999 and had the opportunity to also work per diem in our clinics, my eyes were opened to another world outside the walls of our hospital where we are supporting patients and their families across all of King and Snohomish Counties.

It has been amazing to see the growth in our hospital, including adding the great work that is occurring at EvergreenHealth Monroe. The additions of our primary care and specialty clinics to meet the growing needs of our community have been incredible.

When I joined our Hospice team as the Social Worker supporting our Hospice Care Center and Hospice Home Care patients, we only had 80 patients combined. We now have over 500 Hospice patients, almost 1,700 Home Health patients, and are serving about 300 patients in our In-Home Mental Health program:

That is 2,500 patients that are being supported at home by our EvergreenHealth team.

I am proud to say I work for EvergreenHealth, and have now for more than 25 years. I am proud to be a social worker and work alongside a fabulous group of social workers across all areas of our EvergreenHealth family. Thank you, colleagues, for joining our nation this month as we celebrate these skilled, creative, versatile professionals.