Perinatal Social Worker, Mercy Health Partners

So my name is KaZonte Allen. I am a Masters level social worker. Right now, I am employed as a perinatal social worker through Mercy Health Partners. So some of the job duties of a perinatal social worker are to work with individuals, primarily pregnant women and their families, with linking them to essential community resources that are made available for them throughout the community. It also entails working with pregnant women to educate and disseminate vital health information as it relates to maternal mortality, infant mortality, et cetera. An additional part of being a perinatal social worker is to function as an interdisciplinary team member to identify social determinants within the community and work to bring solutions to help solve those determinants. The social worker is working to build a rapport with you and establish trust to learn about your background and figure out how they may assist you in reducing barriers in your life. So they may ask you questions like if you need help with this resource. Have you experienced any domestic violence within the last year? Are you experiencing any depression? Are you aware of the infant mortality rate? Have you had a premature baby? So different questions like that, and depending upon the patient's answer to those questions, then that will lead the social worker to the next question and then hopefully a solution. So a busy day would look like a patient coming in to see myself. I would do their social assessment, their psychosocial, and then link them to our OB nurse to do their medical assessment. It could be a patient who has transportation barriers, housing barriers, food, WIC, baby items, and pretty much working to link that mom to those services, as well as mental health.