Indispensable = Social Workers

The textbook definition of a social worker goes something like this: “Social workers are professionals who aim to enhance overall well-being and help meet basic and complex needs of communities and people.”

That rather sterile definition hardly explains the variety and fast-paced nature of what social workers do. In fact, “indispensable” was how a member of the clinical faculty at the University of St. Thomas recently described them.

To better understand what our social workers do at Saint Therese senior communities, we talked to the social workers that head up their respective teams in Brooklyn Park, New Hope and Woodbury. We came away with a much richer grasp of the key role they play alongside the more visible role of nursing, the critical resource they are for families and residents, and the joy they get from their job.

Chelsie Plath, LSW, has been at Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake for more than five years and distinguishes what they do this way, “Part of our role is to remind the resident and the team that in addition to the medical needs, we need to provide the psycho-social care.” For instance, in a transitional care unit (TCU), the goal is to rehab the resident, but social workers get involved from the time of admission through to the discharge stage and everything in between that isn’t medically focused. They counsel, provide resources and referrals to families and residents and get them emotionally ready to be discharged and everything in between.

Michael Benson, director of Social Services, has been at Saint Therese of New Hope for more than five years as well. His team of four social workers handles 168 residents, which includes a 57-bed TCU.



He agreed that flexibility is essential to the job. He starts his day with best laid plans, but those plans frequently go out the window.

Mike took an indirect path to social work, gaining valuable experience in group homes, placement agencies, day programs and in hospice. Not surprisingly, all require the desire to help others.

“My favorite part of the job is connecting with residents,” Mike said. “I take so much away from the experience when I have meaningful engagements. And, at the end of the day, I want to help improve the lives of those in our care.”



Other members of the New Hope social work team are Leslie Robertson, Callie Wold, Kerri Scheiller and Amy Sinayoko.

Amanda “Mandy” Marshall, LSW, CCM, has been with Saint Therese of Woodbury for one year and is in wholehearted agreement with her colleagues about the skill set needed by social workers.



“We have to be flexible about our plans for the day and respond to the issues that come up; we have to prioritize and go with the flow,” she said. “The days are never the same and you have to accept that, whatever you had planned for the day, it most likely won’t happen.”

In addition to Mandy, other members of the Woodbury team are Mary Brownlow, LSW, discharge planner, and Jade Nei, assistant.



A heartfelt thanks to the entire Saint Therese social worker team.