Naval Hospital Pensacola Celebrates National Social Work Month

Photo By Jason Bortz | Navy Lt. Jo Ann Martinez, licensed clinical social worker, Naval Hospital Pensacola, is one of two social workers assigned to NHP. The role of Naval Social Workers has grown over the years from combating operational stress to helping patients establish healthy behaviors such as weight loss, tobacco cessation and sleep hygiene.  

PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES

03.12.2013

Courtesy Story

NMRTC Pensacola

Story by: Lt. Jo Ann Martinez, licensed clinical social worker, Naval
Hospital Pensacola.


PENSACOLA, Fla. - The National Association of Social Workers, along with Naval Hospital Pensacola, will be celebrating Social Work Month during March, and this year’s theme, “Resilience Weaving Advocacy,” captures the recent history of Naval Social Work.

Navy social workers now represent a growing number of professionals within the Medical Service Corps community due to the increasing mental health demands of “Operation Enduring Freedom.” In 2007, there were roughly 20 Navy social worker billets and the community was on the verge of extinction. Now almost at 60 and growing, Navy social workers have demonstrated the needed expertise that they bring to various clinical and programmatic settings.

The social work discipline encompasses an eclectic and versatile skill set. Navy social workers perform mental health counseling, substance abuse interventions, social work case management; population based behavioral health and program management. This practice based discipline with two major areas of concentration: direct clinical practice and macro practice, or administration in human service organizations, propels social workers to thrive in a diverse Navy culture. Social workers are specifically trained in social systems theory, which fortifies their expertise in the dynamic intersection between government, law, education, medicine, psychology and sociology.

Navy social workers continuously demonstrate a unique and viable foot print in the global force for good. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, active duty Navy social workers deployed as embedded providers alongside the Marine Corps in support of combat operational stress control. In addition, Navy social workers were also mobilized as care teams emphasizing preventative mental health surveillance and command consultation. Outside the United States, these uniformed subject matter experts in family and victim advocacy skillfully manage cases involving family violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention programs where there are no existing state, child and family welfare agencies.

In keeping with the “needs of the Navy,” active duty social workers continue to fill operational and nonoperational billets at various Marine Corps bases, Great Lakes Naval Recruiting Command and Naval hospitals to focus on continued readiness, resilience and patient care. Treating the “invisible wounds of war” amongst many of our returning war heroes continues at the home front where Navy social workers keep actively engaged with patients for many years. In the new and emerging disease realm of chronic pain, social workers can offer specialty skills in the areas of social work case management, addiction, psycho social and behavioral approaches toward pain relief, readiness, research and rehabilitation. Having uniformed social workers often brings comfort to service members because many service members and veterans prefer to place their very sacred trust into the capable hands of someone in uniform that represents a binding, unbreakable bond.

As the current war potentially comes to a close, Navy social workers can be found once again in Medical Home Port Teams throughout the Navy. Naval Hospital Pensacola is one of the leading DoD hospitals for patient centered care, a new place where Navy social workers are key stake holders. Now as internal behavioral health consultants, Navy social workers are available to each and every TRICARE beneficiary to promote healthy behaviors. These evidence based treatments are geared toward establishing healthy behavioral changes in the areas of wellness such as weight loss, tobacco cessation, sleep hygiene, relapse prevention and any and all self managing diseases. Naval Hospital Pensacola, now with two Navy social workers, delivers the promise of a bright future ahead for this growing community.

To make an appointment to see a clinical social worker or an internal behavioral health consultant at Naval Hospital Pensacola, enrolled TRICARE beneficiaries can contact their Medical Home Port Team through RelayHealth or by calling Central Appointments at 505-7171.

• Date Taken: 03.12.2013
• Date Posted: 03.12.2013 12:57
• Story ID: 103349
• Location: PENSACOLA, FL, US