Social Workers

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The Social Worker is a member of the Diabetes Treatment Team who supports the child, family, and staff by:

assessing the social situation and needs
providing access to needed resources
and assisting with problem solving.

As a foundation for ongoing management, the newly diagnosed child and family is assessed to determine particular needs, such as:

availability of family and others to help participate in the care
links with school or daycare
other community resources which may be needed to support care.

Where needs are identified, the social worker helps the diabetes team and family obtain resources and to work out problems which may interfere with the child's opportunity to have the best diabetes management.

The team recognizes that the impact of a new diagnosis is often shock, and is certainly a challenge. Through our educational program in diabetes management much of the natural anxiety is lessened. There may be additional issues, however, which compete with and distract from the family's ability to provide care as needed. The Social Worker is someone who understands and can help the family to meet these challenges successfully .

You can expect to see a Social Worker during:

your hospital stay
at the first outpatient appointment
in the course of the ADAPT educational program
at community conferences.

The Social Worker is available by telephone, directly, and through other members of the Diabetes Team.

Riley Hospital Social Workers for Diabetes are:

Julane Petroy (full-time) 317-278-7258
Sarah Milestone (Wednesdays) 317-274-1720

[Keywords: diabetes, resources]

US News - America's Best Children's Hospitals 2008

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