Max Elliott (MSSW ’12) creates an urban farm that grows community leaders
Fall 2016 issue
Capitol gains
Elliott Naishtat’s legacy
Veterans affairs
Celebrating 90 years of social work
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) doesn’t go far enough
By Jane Maxwell The opioid overdose epidemic plaguing Texas and the nation includes two interrelated trends: a 15-year increase in deaths involving opioid prescription pain relievers, and a more recent surge in heroin overdose deaths. To help combat the epidemic, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act was recently introduced in the U. S. Senate. This […]
Recovery high schools can help combat the opioid epidemic
By Julie McElrath I have seen this trend from up close, first as the counselor at a drug and alcohol residential treatment center. I worked with adult heroin users with multiple relapses who, on average, had started used opioids at 15 years of age. Today, in my role as executive director of University High School, […]
Texas decided not to expand Medicaid: Who pays the price?
Health insurance coverage may elicit yawns from other people but it gets Cossy Hough fired up. She credits her 13 years working with Texas Medicaid for her conviction that social workers should understand the social justice implications of Medicaid expansion. What is the Affordable Care Act coverage gap? Due to a 2012 Supreme Court decision […]
To disclose or not to disclose?
LGBTQ patients have many reasons for not disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity in healthcare settings – such as homophobic reactions and confidentiality concerns. At the same time, health equity advocates know that this information is needed to identify and eliminate disparities in healthcare. Doctoral student Jelena Todic and Laura Brown, a communication professor […]
What happens to trauma patients after their lives have been saved?
The question nagged Katherine Houck, MSSW ‘98, a trauma social worker at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin. She noticed that many patients hospitalized for severe trauma (due to a car accident, for instance) developed post-traumatic stress symptoms such as flashbacks and nightmares. To answer the question, last year Houck put together a research team […]
Simulations for medical social work
Interdisciplinary teamwork is becoming essential for the delivery of good integrated healthcare. Through hospital simulations, clinical professors Dede Sparks and Mary Mulvaney are preparing social work students to operate in teams with peers in nursing, pharmacy, and other health-related professions. During the simulations, student teams respond to mannequins or volunteers posing as patients and presenting […]
Digital inclusion with Google
Google Fiber has been working with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) to bring free internet connection and digital literacy skills to Austin’s public housing residents. Social work juniors Reginald Smith and Addis Gezaghn joined the program as Google Community Leaders during this past academic year. They helped children and adult residents […]
