Wayne State’s School of Social Work hosted a panel discussion of alumni holding careers in public service, in which they talked about how social work is present in their field of work. On the panel were judges, lawyers and doctors.
Ernie Yoder was one of the panelists who participated in the Nov. 6 event held at the Community Arts Center. Yoder is a physician and vice president of academic affairs for St. John’s Hospital.
As a physician in Detroit, Yoder has the chance to work with people from all walks of life. With the automotive industry declining and gas prices sky rocketing, health care is the last thing on many people’s minds.
“Social workers play an important role as part of the team who takes care of patients both in the hospital and helping to facilitate transitions of patients to other facilities,” Yoder said.
“We have a large population of patients who don’t get regular health care, who are either underinsured or have not insured. Social workers are great at helping them access community resources.”
Yoder said there is a model that is being tested in Michigan, called the patient-centered medical home, involving the merging of medical and social work fields that focus on outpatient care.
“It’s their training in counseling and developing relationships with patients, as well as their knowledge of community resources” said Yoder, speaking on why social workers are so important in his field.
Social workers are also present in the judicial system. Juveniles can be affected by the justice system even if they themselves are not the offender. Other times, there are extenuating circumstances that can be helped by a social worker.
Judge Catherine Hansen of Detroit’s 36th District Court said that social workers are helpful, particularly with people who are on probation, by helping to complete services to get them off of probation and out of the justice system.
Social workers assist all types of people that are in need of help. There does not necessarily need to be a legal issue or a health problem to get involved.
Attorney Rick McHugh works on a project that involves dislocated autoworkers. He sees that the lack of funds and resources have a direct impact on how social workers are unable to work with a large number of dislocated autoworkers.
“This isn’t something that social workers are focusing on,” McHugh said, “and it’s probably because there is a lack of resources.
“I think that the message from the election is that we’re going to stop turning our back on manufacturing states, like Michigan, and stop these jobs from disappearing and help the people that are losing their jobs more effectively.”
The three members of the panel agree on one thing — social workers are much needed in Detroit to work with the community.
“Social workers have that connection link between all of us.” Hansen said. “They have the skills to bring us all together when perhaps we don’t see eye-to-eye. Social workers have a way of bridging that gap.”
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