Twin Cities Community Hospital adds second full-time social worker
After identifying a need for enhanced mental and behavioral health support services for patients in the emergency department, Twin Cities Community Hospital recently hired a second full-time licensed clinical social worker, Amelia Abernathy.
Joan Fusco, a licensed clinical social worker who has worked at Twin Cities Community Hospital for the last two years, says that the staff addition responds to the increasing demand among patients for substance abuse, homelessness, mental or behavioral health resources–especially in the Emergency Department. “Emergency services have been especially impacted due to the recent economy,” Fusco says. “People are living longer but they have fewer resources. As licensed mental health clinicians, we provide an essential component of expert health care for the North County community.”
A San Luis Obispo native who most recently worked at a residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed youth in Los Angeles, Abernathy holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Occidental College and a Master’s in Social Work from USC. She says she looks forward to helping the department provide the clinical therapeutic support so urgently needed in any hospital environment.
“With Amelia’s extensive background in therapy, crisis intervention, collateral services, rehabilitation and case management services, Amelia rounds out our current Social Work Department and brings a high level of training and professional experience to the Emergency Room,” says Twin Cities CEO Mark Lisa. “With a full CSW team in place, the hospital now offers comprehensive assistance for all acute cases that could benefit from social service intervention.”