Since the APHSW-C Program started in 2019, approximately 500 social workers have become APHSW-C! We had an incredible start for the first exam periods. The pandemic has made things more difficult with limited test sites since last winter/spring. However, now most test sites are open and ready to provide exams.
Beginning this week, SWHPN will begin posting weekly updates from our committees, to highlight the important work each is doing to help advance the organization’s mission. This series is being launched by our Strategic Engagement committee, and the following was written by Jennifer Hirsch, LMSW and PhD candidate.
To help address complex trauma resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, five leading organizations are collaborating to offer free innovative resources for frontline providers on grief education. The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN), the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) have received a grant from the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) to produce Dealing with GRIEF: A Series of 5 Short, Powerful Videos.
Caring for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of patients and their families is a demanding vocation in typical times, and this initiative aims to provide timely and practical information during an unprecedented time. Research has also shown that a significant number of frontline providers, at all levels, exhibit secondary traumatic stress, bereavement, compassion fatigue, and burnout.
Lori Eckel, LCSW, APHSW-C is the lead palliative care social worker and the senior ethics consultant at Legacy Health. She received her MSW from Portland State University School of Social Work, completed advanced clinical training in palliative care from Smith School of Social Work, and completed the Zelda Foster Palliative Care Leadership Fellowship at NYU School of Social Work. Lori currently serves as an adviser and mentor for participants in both the Smith and NYU’s Zelda Foster programs. Her palliative care clinical social work has been focused in critical care and oncology and she has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Social Work in End of Life and Palliative Care. In her ethics role, she oversees the ethics consultation service, co-leads review and development of ethically relevant institutional policies, and supports the continuing ethics education activities at Legacy Health. Lori appreciates opportunities to contribute to the well-being of health professionals, teaching students, and mentoring others in the field of palliative care. She has presented locally and nationally on topics related to advance care planning, moral distress, and ethical dimensions of end-of-life care.
In continuing with our work to speak up and challenge social injustice, SWHPN is issuing this statement condemning the hateful attacks against Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders. We have seen a rise in verbal and physical violence in cities across the United States because of anti-Asian racism following the COVID-19 pandemic (Ruiz, Horowitz, Tamir, 2020; Jeung, Yellow Horse, Popovic, Lin, 2021). In the murders of Korean-Americans on March 16th in Atlanta, we saw the twin biases of sexism and racism that Asian women, in particular, have been victims of in our societal structure of white patriarchy. Affirming our social work values, we explicitly reject all forms of racism, xenophobia, and nativism, and stand with our Asian-American victims of violence and hate. By doing so, we also acknowledge that the struggles of Asian-Americans are inextricably linked with other BIPOC communities in a common endeavor for the humanity of this country. We uphold the inherent dignity and worth of each person and challenge others to join us in working against anti-Asian violence.
We recognize that our statement must be followed with action. Understanding our positionality and respecting the vanguard role of the Asian-American community, we want to use this opportunity to highlight the work being done by our Asian American Social Workers, and advocacy groups like Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Stop AAPI Hate (@stopAAPIHate on Twitter). The Atlanta branch of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice released a very powerful statement earlier today that we encourage you to read, and amplify and donate if possible. The Chicago branch is holding a series of bystander intervention trainings during April that SWHPN staff will be participating in, and we encourage you to sign up (also available here, through ihollaback.org).
On December 27, 2020, H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 became public law. This 5,593-page year-end legislative package included a policy provision which should be of interest to hospice and palliative care social workers. Part of the “Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments Act”, also known as the HOSPICE Act H.R. 5821, is a requirement for survey and enforcement procedures to improve consistency and oversight for hospice programs.
Federal oversight of hospice programs is not a new development. The Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP), established in 2010 with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, mandated quality reporting requirements for hospice programs. Since that time, to provide transparency to consumers and improve care to hospice patients, hospices have been required to both measure and report quality care measures. The Hospice Act differs from the HQRP, in that it provides more detail about surveyor training, the survey process, and intermediate sanctions for hospices. Surveys will continue to be required every 36 months and if there is more than one surveyor (required to be a nurse), it can be conducted by other members of the interdisciplinary team. The interdisciplinary surveyor team is an important opportunity for hospice social workers, in that it includes for the first time, the potential for professional social work oversight to be included in a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hospice survey.
The Cambia Health Foundation has opened its 2021 Sojourns® Scholar Leadership Program Call for Applications and encourages palliative care professionals from across the country, including all disciplines and practice settings to apply.
The Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program is designed to identify, cultivate and advance the next generation of palliative care leaders. As part of the leadership program, each Sojourns Scholar receives $180,000 in funding ($90,000/year over a two-year period) to conduct an innovative and impactful clinical, policy, educational, health equity or systems change project in the field of palliative care. Scholars also participate with other scholars in a collaborative learning community while receiving individual mentorship to design and implement a development plan that supports their growth as national palliative care leaders.
SWHPN is thrilled to announce that three social workers have been announced as part of the seventh cohort of the Cambia Health Foundation’s Sojourns® Scholar Leadership Program.
Cara L. Wallace, PhD, LMSW, APHSW-C of Saint Louis University; Rachel Rusch, LCSW, MSW, MA of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; and SWHPN Board Member Stephanie P. Wladkowski, PhD, LMSW, APHSW-C of Eastern Michigan University were each carefully chosen through a rigorous selection process from a highly competitive pool. SWHPN is proud of their commitment to improving the experience of people facing serious illness and their caregivers.
Watching the events from yesterday unfold, and then reading many responses on social media and in major news and journalistic outlets, we at SWHPN feel the need to reflect and respond. As an organization, we obviously strongly condemn the insurrectionist riot that occurred at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. and at statehouses around the country.
While social justice and self-determination are pillars of social work, what happened yesterday was an attempt by a group of nearly all-white people to compel their desired election result over the expressed wishes of millions of Americans who voted differently. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are guaranteed rights, but breaking windows and doors to enter Congress for the sole purpose to cause havoc and delay a procedural process to certify the President is not.
On Monday, October 12, the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners changed the section of its code of conduct that establishes when a social worker may or may not deny services, to remove previous language specifying that discrimination based on disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity constitutes a violation of the code of conduct for Social Workers in Texas. The removal of these specifications puts the Texas code of conduct in contrast with existing social work principles, ethical guidelines for practice, and federal anti-discrimination mandates by allowing for discrimination based on disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) is horrified and dismayed by these changes, and condemns them in the strongest terms possible. This action explicitly violates the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics Section 4.02:
As of this writing, there are less than thirty days until the 2020 Election. This has been a year of tremendous uncertainty on so many fronts, and unlike in past years, it seems the uncertainty will continue through Election Night and possibly beyond.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, SWHPN is not permitted to endorse a specific candidate, nor are we allowed to oppose any candidate.
Liz Anderson, Ph.D, joined Western Carolina University in 2016 as Assistant Professor of Social Work. Dr. Anderson is a 2018 recipient of the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program Grant, one of the first of two social workers to receive the award nationwide, for her research and leadership in family engagement in palliative care for rural persons with kidney disease. She has worked as a hospice and palliative care social worker and was the former Social Services Director for Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition. Dr. Anderson was the Field Director and an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Mars Hill University as well as former Women’s Studies Coordinator. She collaborates with George Washington University and Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients in research and clinical practice on advance care planning, motivational interviewing, and supportive care for with persons diagnosed with kidney disease. In addition, Dr. Anderson's other research area includes campus sexual assault. She integrates her practice and research experience in the classroom, teaching Integrated Health, Social Work Practice: Individual Interventions, Research Methods, and Human Behavior in the Social Environment.
Danielle Jonas, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in psychotherapy with children, adolescents and families. Danielle earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and in history from Indiana University. She continued her education by earning a master’s degree in social work from Indiana University with a concentration in pediatrics. She went on to complete an interdisciplinary pediatric palliative care social work fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Medicine. She is currently at PhD candidate at NYU Silver School of Social Work.
Thanks to a generous grant from the American Nurses Foundation, SWHPN is able to offer a limited number of scholarships for our August, September, and October SWHPN Summits. These scholarships are for both members and non-members, and will cover the costs associated with one Summit.
We are hoping to help social workers that have been negatively impacted by COVID, so that you may continue to learn and get CE hours during this difficult time. In the event that demand exceeds the available supply of funds, we will use a random lottery to determine the scholarships. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until September 14, 2020.
Last month, more than 125 SWHPN members, social work professionals, and students joined together for our virtual June Summit, “Cultural Competency in Hospice and Palliative Care.” Held on Juneteenth and during Pride month, we wanted to use the day as an opportunity to go beyond didactic presentations to showcase meaningful, actionable steps social workers could take to address racism, explicit and implicit bias, intersectionality, and more. During the post-Summit “networking happy hour,” attendees stayed online for an extra hour and a half to continue the discussion. It’s clear there is a hunger for more information about how to dismantle inequitable systems that harm Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC), whether they are patients, families, or social workers.
Post-Summit, what is SWHPN doing to address the changes that are needed?
To our members, we ask that you make a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion both with your colleagues and with your patients. If you’re white, commit to listening to colleagues and patients who are hurting. Tell us when we make a misstep (and when it doesn’t take too much energy). This is going to be a difficult period of change and I can’t promise we will be perfect; but I can promise we will try as hard as we can, and that we will try to apply the above principles.
Allie Shukraft, MSW, MAT, APHSW-C | SWHPN Board Chair
We know there is a lot going on. In just the past twelve weeks, we’ve seen the COVID-19 pandemic blaze through our communities, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths. We’re seeing the related economic downturn affect workers, businesses, housing, food security, and more interrelated systems. We’re sharing the righteous anger from thousands of people across the country as they protest the impunity with which racial, ethnic, and xenophobic hatred and violence has been allowed to flourish. We echo the statement cried out on the streets and emblazoned across social media that Black Lives Matter.
Through it all, hospice and palliative care social workers have faced changing norms and practices head-on. We’ve grappled with determining who is considered an “essential” worker eligible for PPE. We’ve learned how to conduct family meetings in our living rooms and parking garages via videoconferencing and new apps. We’ve figured out how to show a smile behind a mask, how to show concern without being able to hug, and how to record memories and share presence for loved ones who couldn’t be physically present.
AND we’ve done all of that while also grappling with the social justice issues that, due to hundreds of years building up layers upon layers of structural racism and inequities, are suddenly split open for all to see. Of the COVID deaths, we see the disproportionate impact it has had on Black people, Native Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ+ people, incarcerated people, and other marginalized communities, due directly to historical factors including redlining, unequal access to to jobs, healthcare, and insurance, and stigma from healthcare providers. In the economic downturn, we see the same factors at play again, affecting those already struggling; and again in the police and judicial systems that overwhelmingly harm communities of color. It has been a lot to take in and process, even more for our social workers who are living it as a reality.
The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) wholeheartedly rejects the killings of black and brown people by police. As social workers helping ease suffering at end-of-life, we cannot let racism and disparities in care go unchecked. We are here to support a more just, equitable system for all.
Our organization is comprised of nearly 1,000 hospice and palliative care social workers throughout the country. Our core work focuses on providing professional development, amplifying evidence-informed best practices, and advocating for improved policies and increased funding, so that all patients and families experiencing serious illness receive expert psychosocial care which alleviates their suffering, improves their quality of life, and facilitates their dying in accordance with their wishes.
Today, the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) joins religious communities throughout the United States, as well as the U.S. Conference on Mayors, in support of a nationwide Day of Mourning and Lament. On this day, we recognize and mark the collective suffering faced by individuals and families throughout the country as we passed the 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19.
We recognize that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian-Americans, and other people of color. From the higher death rates among communities of color, to the pandemic-related job losses and lack of healthcare access and insurance, to the increasing rates of the disease among the incarcerated, we are seeing the ongoing impacts of COVID expose the lasting effects of racism in our country. The suffering felt by African-Americans and people of color cannot be minimized.
Further, COVID-19 is having a lasting impact on how we grieve these losses. Towards that end, we are proposing the creation of a National Grief Strategy. We are advocating for the development of a comprehensive plan to support and expand grief services and resources throughout the country. We want to proactively identify and address the health and mental health effects of grief due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so that we may begin the process of collective healing.
We encourage you to join us today in recognizing a Day of Mourning and Lament. Read our Call for a National Grief Strategy, and then add your name to support it. Then please share with others.
For questions and comments, please email us at [email protected].
