Inside Duke Medicine
Living our values: Diversity
posted September 13th, 2011
Social worker Michelle Koeneke, patient resource manager Alan Green and translator Rebecca Reyes listen to a member of a DUH patient's family.
Trauma team’s embrace of diversity created healing connections
After a line of tornados tore through the region in April, a Latino family of four was left scattered and hurt. While trying to escape, they were hit directly by a twister.
The mother was tossed 30 feet in the air and suffered permanent paralysis. She was airlifted to the Duke Trauma center. Her husband was severely injured; he was taken to a separate hospital. One of two children suffered significant injuries.
The family of four was scattered in different hospitals. The adults spoke no English.
“We start by addressing the basic needs,” said Michelle Koeneke, a clinical social worker with the DUHS Trauma Service. “I worked closely with the medical team and the interpreter, who are essential in building the therapeutic connection. We spent a lot of time with the mother to help her understand the diagnosis, help her grieve her losses and keep her informed about her husband and children.”
At the patient’s request, Koeneke summoned a Spanish-speaking chaplain and worked with the mother to contact relatives in Indiana and arrange accommodations to unite the extended family.
Koeneke works with a team accustomed to meeting these challenges. She credits colleague Alan Green, a patient resource manager, with a significant role in the care of trauma patients. “Alan and I always collaborate to meet the diverse needs of our patients within the trauma setting,” she said.
Embracing workplace diversity is more than a good idea in for social workers in trauma settings. The daily confluence of language, cultural and social obstacles requires a team-based focus to establish a quick connection with patients and families to create a path toward healing and comfort.
“So much of what we do in the medical setting must be relationship-based,” Koeneke said. “When somebody knows you care and they trust you, so much more work can happen.”
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