Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center launches Department of Social Work to support and elevate the profession system-wide

Dartmouth Health's Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) recently launched a Department of Social Work to serve as a professional home for this important group of clinicians. Based in Lebanon, the department will support social work identity, training, development and best practices across the Dartmouth Health system.

"Social workers play a critical role in patient care, access and transitions across settings," said Dartmouth Health CEO and president Joanne M. Conroy, MD. "Their work spans areas from care management to mental health, pediatrics and other clinical settings. This department will support social workers for the long term and align our organization with the essential work social workers do every day. This supports Dartmouth Health's goals to strengthen integrated care and improve coordination across the care continuum."

Social workers, stakeholders and leaders from across DHMC and Clinics worked together on the creation of the department to ensure it reflected the voices and experiences of the social workers caring for patients daily. Michele A. Blanchard, MSW, care management manager at DHMC, and Lucy J.R. Pilcher, MSW, LICSW, behavioral health clinician manager at DHMC, led the charge to create the department.

"The Department of Social Work will provide enhanced career development pathways, expand educational opportunities, and strengthen support for Dartmouth Health's social workers, who fulfill a vital role in caring for our most vulnerable patients," said Pilcher and Blanchard. "This department will elevate and unify the social work profession within our organization, reinforcing the essential contributions social workers make as key members of interdisciplinary teams."