At Shawnee Health, healthcare means more than just lab coats and stethoscopes. We are dedicated to caring for our community in every way that matters, and we offer more than your standard doctor’s office. We not only care for our patients’ physical wellbeing, but we pride ourselves in looking after the mental and social wellbeing of our patients, too.
Our Social Services Department embodies this commitment by caring for older adult patients, young families, individuals seeking help with behavioral health and individuals with disabilities. Our patients’ mental health and social wellbeing are at the forefront of every program within the Social Services Department at Shawnee Health. As we head into 2025 and look forward to another amazing year, we want to reflect on the achievements of our Social Services division throughout 2024.
The Social Services division reached thousands of clients/patients and provided excellent care this past year. Some highlights from our teams include:
- Adult Protective Services Specialists actively investigated over 1,300 cases of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation of older adult patients and adult patients with disabilities. This team worked with law enforcement and the judicial system to secure justice for victims of financial exploitation.
- The Care Coordination and Case Manager Assistant Team helped more than 3,300 older adults across 18 counties to meet their unique health needs. This team also provided over $36,000 in Emergency Senior Services funding to meet the needs of older adults.
- Clinical Behavioral Health staff completed over 15,400 counseling visits. Additionally, our new Substance Use Support Group in Carbondale has taken off tremendously and has helped many individuals throughout their recovery process . And, our Terrier Care Counselors are making waves on Tik Tok.
- Clinical Case Management and Community Health Workers assisted nearly 6,200 unique patients to aid with referrals, public benefits applications, finding community resources and health education. Additionally, these workers attended 34 outreach events, reaching over 3,800 community members.
- Our Healthy Families Team and Doulas served over 75 families. Our Doulas expanded their services into OB clinics, supported 216 patients, completed over 500 home visits and attended 29 births.
- The Farmworker Health Program supported 730 migrant farmworker patients in our clinics, and worked as translators and interpreters in approximately 5,300 medical, dental and behavioral health visits.
- Our Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program conducted over 600 visits to nursing home residents to ensure fair living conditions and care quality for residents of long-term care facilities. This team resolved more than 200 complaints. Additionally, they received a mayoral proclamation from the City of Marion designating October as Residents Rights Month.
2024 was an amazing year here at Shawnee Health, especially within our Social Services Department. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to make these achievements possible! Read more about Shawnee Health Social Services and find resources here.