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Health & Fitness

The Village at Marymount's Social Workers Provide Voice For Residents

The days are long, the complaints are many, and the telephone calls are endless. Yet through it all social workers persevere primarily because of their passion to advocate for short- and long-term care residents as their voice of reason during times of a health care crisis.

Social workers are being honored this month, incorporating the National Association of Social Workers’ 2014 theme “All People Matter.” The theme was selected to help raise awareness about the American social work profession’s 116-year commitment to improving social conditions and quality of life opportunities for everyone. Social workers across the globe believe that all people have dignity and deserve respect.

“I went into social work as a profession because I knew I wanted to impact people’s lives and to help people,” said Jennifer Kosh, a licensed social worker at The Village at Marymount. “I approach my job to be an advocate for residents and to be a person who is the voice for them when they don’t have one.”

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NASW’s goal for Social Work Month is to educate the public about how these values are essential to improving relationships within families, making social support systems more effective, and building stronger communities. The American social work profession was established in the late 19th century to ensure that immigrants and other vulnerable people gained tools and skills to escape economic and social poverty. 

The profession of social work helps people in their personal and interpersonal lives in order to achieve social improvement, and pursues social change to benefit a wide variety of individuals, families and communities.

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Social workers believe that everyone has the right and potential to lead a productive and fulfilling life. They also understand the importance of human relationships in civil society, and that each person has dignity and worth.

Andrea Fries, The Village at Marymount’s Social Services Coordinator, takes her role as an advocate one step further: in the past she mentored student intern Jennifer Ostrowski in social work career development.

“Jennifer is a great student,” Fries said. “She has been an asset to our social work department and I’m happy to help her with another aspect of her career.”

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