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The Social Work Department provides a number of services to hospitalized and/or clinic patients and families. All Social Workers at ACH are state-licensed at the Master's level and are specially trained clinicians in the medical Social Work field. These trained professionals recognize the impact of illness on patients and families and are prepared to provide supportive counseling to assist families in coping with the unpredictability of illness. We are totally committed to improving the lives of children. We work with families to ensure that each child gets the best possible care.
We encourage you to ask questions and request the support you need; let us know of your family's beliefs, traditions, and ways of coping; and tell us about your child and make suggestions to us about their care.
Our Social Workers are able to link families with community resources for a number of supportive services.
Please contact the Social Work department for any of the following needs: counseling; crisis intervention or long term support; assistance to medical staff to help families understand and cooperate with medical treatment; evaluation, referral and treatment of patients who are victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect; referrals to appropriate resources and preparing families for taking their child home. Interpreters are also available when needed, at no charge to parents.
As a significant person in our patient's life, you will likely feel helpless or out of control while other members of the ACH Care Team are busy with your loved one. Hopefully, this information will help you find ways to deal with having someone dear to you in a hospital. It is difficult when you are not the one actually taking care of your child, but there is something important you can do: first, you can take care of yourself.
You are just as important to the healing process as the doctors, nurses, medicines, and other health care professionals. We know that love and encouragement has a strong effect on healing. Because of this, your well being is important to your loved one and to us. Following these tips may help you while your loved one is at ACH:
This information is provided to you by the Social Work Department of Arkansas Children's.
The Cara Allen Diamond Award for Outstanding Patient and Family Centered Care is sponsored by the parents of Cara, Chloe and Kenneth Allen, who were triplets in our NICU. Cara passed away after 318 days in NICU. The Allen family is appreciative each day of the compassion and care they received during their NICU stay, especially in the dark moments of Cara's passing. Cara's siblings, Chloe, who spent 196 days and Kenneth, who spent 318 days in the NICU, are thriving because of the care they received at Arkansas Children's.
The family chose to use a "diamond" as the symbol of the award as it represents the birthstone of their children and it also comes from the Greek word "adamant" which is unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals or urgings. Diamonds are formed from one of the darkest objects, coal, yet when they are nurtured they are beautiful, strong, and rare! During a family's darkest or most stressful time, an exemplary team member's nurturing of a family can help them feel strong like a diamond.
Arkansas Children's values the respect, care and compassion that team members provide every day to our patients and families. The Cara Allen Diamond Award honors Arkansas Children's team members who excel in providing respectful and compassionate care using an individualized and collaborative approach.