FEATURE STORY
Shifting Practices:
INNOVATIVE SOCIAL WORK DURING COVID-19
BY EMILY RENDELL-WATSON
WHEN THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, social workers across Canada had to quickly find new and creative ways to continue their practices. Many adapted to working from home, navigating how to connect with clients virtually. The following stories profile four Alberta social workers and how they’ve each been resilient in tackling new challenges, all while supporting clients and their colleagues. (Please note: this story was written in July 2020 and may not reflect the current state of the pandemic, or work situations for each of the four social workers profiled.) Lindsay Ames As a medical social worker in the University of Alberta Hospital’s intensive care unit, Lindsay Ames, BSW, RSW, has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. She provides family support, which involves facilitating communication, crisis intervention, grief and end of life care, as well as practical assistance and supportive counsel to help people navigate the health care system. Ames knew that families would be impacted by provincial visitor guidelines, and even more so if their loved one tested positive for COVID-19. “Families are experiencing a high level of stress because they are reacting and responding to the larger picture of a pandemic and are also navigating a critical care admission that could be directly related to the pandemic,” Ames said. “I had to keep my wits about me and figure out the new needs emerging … to empathize as well as strategize around what families would need.” When families couldn’t come inside the unit to visit, Ames would go and meet them outside of the hospital. Some dropped off iPads filled with music or sacred texts
“that would feel comforting and medicinal in their own way,” she explained. “You become the eyes and the hands for them.” As the months unfolded, Ames drew strength from working alongside health care colleagues and collaborating to solve problems in real time through the stress of the pandemic. “Our greatest strength is our ability to gather together to connect, communicate and cooperate. Alone we are vulnerable, together we can be strong.” Debbie Kozdrowski When Westlock’s Aspen Primary Care Network had to close its doors to the public, the first thing Debbie Kozdrowski, RSW, did was go through the Standards of Practice for social work. Kozdrowski, a Behavioural Health Practitioner, knew she would have to rely on her training and expertise to get through the pandemic as the only social worker in her workplace. “It was the Standards of Practice that I used to start providing some guidance and directional insight: to determine what was the best way for me to provide services to my clients, what were the challenges — there are a lot of barriers in rural areas,” said Kozdrowski. Westlock is about 85 kilometres north of Edmonton. Kozdrowski worried about her clients being able to access the internet, or if they had devices through which they could connect to her. She handles the early intervention component of helping people learn how to better manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and more. THE ADVOCATE
25
