Social Workers Are Essential to the Future of Whole-Person Healthcare
Healthcare is about more than treating a diagnosis. A patient’s ability to manage their health is often shaped by factors that happen outside the doctor’s office—access to food and housing, transportation, family support, mental health, financial stability, and the ability to understand and follow a treatment plan – often recognized as social drivers of health. […]
Courts Push Back Against the Department’s “Professional Degree” Rule — But the Fight Isn’t Over
In a previous post, we walked through the devastating impact the Department of Education’s (DOE) proposed degree reclassification would have on the already dire national workforce shortage in social work and behavioral health by cutting access to federal loans by half for MSW students; thus forcing essential mental health professionals into the predatory private-loan market. […]
Suffs: Revisiting the Suffrage Movement Through the Arts
I was fortunate enough to recently see the musical Suffs, which tells the story of the final years of the suffrage movement in the early 1900s. This show largely focuses on the grass-roots efforts of Alice Paul, the prominent leader of the suffrage movement, as well as her relationship to her partners in the effort. […]
Healing Without Shame: The Importance of Mental Health Care That Is Emotionally Safe and Physically Accessible
“While everyone – all colors – everyone is affected by stigma – no one wants to say ‘I’m not in control of my mind.’ No one wants to say, ‘The person I love is not in control of [their] mind.’ But people of color really don’t want to say it because we already feel stigmatized […]
CHaSCI Social Work Grand Rounds: Advancing Learning, Collaboration, and Impact
At the Center for Health and Social Care Integration (CHaSCI), our Social Work Grand Rounds series brings together social workers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and community partners to explore emerging issues affecting health, aging, and social care. Hosted in partnership with Rush University, Social Work Grand Rounds provides a forum for evidence-informed learning, interdisciplinary dialogue, and […]
Championing Health, Community, and Culture: How Rush Generations is Celebrating Older Americans Month
Each May, the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) encourages organizations around the nation to celebrate Older Americans Month (OAM). OAM offers an opportunity to recognize the contributions of older adults while reaffirming our commitment to supporting healthy aging. This year’s theme, Champion Your Health, emphasizes prevention, wellness, and empowering individuals to take an active role in their […]
Crisis Response: A Growing Ecosystem for Advancing Health Equity
The behavioral health landscape in the United States is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. The national expansion of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a growing network of mobile crisis response teams, and the proliferation of crisis receiving and stabilization centers (CRSCs), have created a surging demand for trained, compassionate behavioral […]
Incarceration and Health Care Inequality
Author: Rebecca Bryant, Americorps Member In January, the Center for Health and Social Care Integration at RUSH (CHaSCI) hosted a Social Work Grand Rounds led by Dr. Nicole Mushero named Incarceration in the United States: Health Impacts and Advocacy Opportunities. This session highlighted how limited access to health care in correctional facilities, like prisons and jails, is negatively impacting the health of incarcerated individuals and decreasing life expectancy even after release. The Impacts of Health Care in Correctional Facilities Many people in state prisons grew up facing serious […]
A Social Work Month story: Walking beside a mother through crisis and Change
Author: Eve Escalante, LCSW This month we celebrate Social Work Month, and I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to have multiple spaces to reflect on the value of the work that this discipline provides, how my role has shifted since I began my social work career two decades ago, and how social […]