Winning Articles

Need Breeds Legacy (2004)

Mari O'Brien

The profession of social work provides opportunities to work with many diverse client groups. Social workers play a major role in identifying resources, providing advocacy and promoting patient/client needs. They are uniquely suited to the role of challenging the status quo and helping to bring about change in practices and services in direct response to patient/client needs. The following case example (Mr. M.) illustrates how one social worker succeeded in challenging established practices, resulting in a lasting positive impact on patients and families.

In June 2000, Mr. M. was diagnosed with renal cancer. The M. family comprised Mr. M., his wife and two children, ages 19 and 12. The family had come to Canada to escape war-torn Eastern Europe. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. M. could speak English. When Mr. M's employer learned of his illness, he attempted to fire Mr. M. and cancel his life insurance. Mrs. M's employer terminated her employment, as she needed the time to care for her husband. The stress on this family became intolerable. The family's financial situation deteriorated rapidly when Mr. M. was forced to stop working due to ill health. Soon bills began to pile up, and the family attempted to cope by obtaining cash advances on their credit cards to pay for their mortgage and essential bills. However, this situation quickly spiralled downward into financial catastrophe. The M. family was facing mortgage foreclosure and disconnection of essential services.

When the social worker, Mari O Brien, at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, became aware of this family's situation, she undertook some fundraising to help this family cope. The goal was to help pay their mortgage and utility bills until Mr. M's death, at which time mortgage life insurance would be activated. The social worker raised close to $10,000.00. This financial assistance allowed the M. family to stay together and maintain as normal a life as possible during Mr. M.'s illness. The fund helped pay for funeral expenses. The family continues to live in their home and are in the process of rebuilding their lives.

The experience of the M. family acted as an impetus to the Social Worker to create a fund that could respond to similar situations of financial need of kidney patients. Consequently, a fund was set up as a charitable trust - the Catastrophic Relief Fund in Nephrology. This Fund, which continues to grow, is able to respond to the catastrophic financial needs of patients as a result of their kidney disease. This unique Fund, in a short period of time, has helped a variety of patients and their families. It has developed a high level of credibility and regularly receives donations. It is currently celebrating its third anniversary, and is a wonderful example of the power of social work to influence change and reach out to vulnerable clients and patients in a profound way.

Mari O Brien, B.Sc., MSW, currently works as a social worker in the Kidney Urinary Program at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton.