March 25, 2014 | Aging Life Care
March is Social Work Month, and the values of social work are at the core of everything we do at Elder Care Guides. Our clinical team includes individuals with a broad range of education and training, three of whom have earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. We invite you to get to know the professional social workers on our staff:
Amy Abrams, MSW/MPH, CMC (Vice President, Client Services)
Amy co-founded Elder Care Guides in 2004, and has worked in the field of elder care in San Diego for nearly 15 years, in medical case management, home care, and geriatric care management. She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of California at San Diego, and a joint Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health from San Diego State University. Amy is certified by the National Academy of Certified Care Managers, and is an active member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM). She currently sits on the Board of Directors of NAPGCM, and chairs the association’s Research Development Committee. Locally, she is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Glenner Memory Care Centers.
“I’ve been witness to some remarkable transformations in the lives of our clients, and strongly believe that age and disability are not about ‘decline,’ but are a phase of life with opportunities for growth, development, and positive change. I watched as both of my beautiful grandmothers became most fully themselves in their final years, and hold them up as examples of what’s possible for all of us. I count myself lucky to have discovered the field of geriatric care management early on in my career, and get great satisfaction from the work I do both for Elder Care Guides and for my profession. I’m deeply dedicated to the professional standards and ethics of NAPGCM, and feel that through service to my colleagues who are doing this work around the country, I’m influencing the future of how we care for people with disabilities.”
Cassie Farrell, MSW (Care Manager)
Cassie is a social worker experienced in working with a variety of client populations, including older adults with physical and cognitive impairments, individuals with mental health diagnoses, and persons with developmental disabilities in San Diego since 2005. Elder Care Guides was pleased to welcome her to our clinical team in 2013, with her wide ranging clinical knowledge and experience. Cassie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science and Geology from State University of New York at Binghamton, and earned her Master of Social Work degree from San Diego State University in 2011, with an emphasis in mental health and gerontology. She is currently working toward licensure (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), and is in the process of completing her Care Management Certification through the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.
“Unfortunately, the process of aging often comes with many losses: those of physical functioning, mental cognition, friends and family members, homes, jobs, and skills, to name a few. I have found that these losses take their toll on the individual, and often lead to depression and other mental health concerns. In my work as a Geriatric Care Manager, I strive to focus on the older adult’s strengths and the things in life that bring them happiness. I enjoy building a team that surrounds the person and highlights the joys in their life, rather than the deficits. We can look at the glass as half-empty or half-full, and I always see the glass as half-full. I strive to share that vision with my clients and their families, in effect supporting older adults to have the very best quality of life.”
Susan Valoff, LCSW, C-ASWCM (Vice President, Clinical Services)
Susan has 20 years of experience in healthcare and geriatrics, as a hospital social worker, educator, healthcare administrator, and geriatric care manager. She joined the Elder Care Guides team in 2009, and is a partner in the company. Susan earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in American Civilization and Hispanic Literature and Culture from Brown University, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Chicago. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of California, and is credentialed as a Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM) through the National Association of Social Workers. Susan is a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, and a founding member of the San Diego Geriatric Care Managers Local Unit.
“One of the reasons I became a social worker was my experience helping to advocate for my uncle, who lived with schizophrenia, within the health care and mental health systems in Missouri. In my first post-graduate job at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, I worked on an interdisciplinary team whose goal was to help people achieve the greatest amount of independence possible, whether they had survived a stroke, were recovering from a traumatic injury, or were managing a chronic condition. In this setting, I learned the importance of ‘starting where the client is’: understanding an individual’s goals, and then providing the resources and support to help him or her get there. I also learned that quality of life is more important in many cases than finding a cure. At Elder Care Guides, I find my roles as teacher and advocate to be the most rewarding. And I enjoy supervising our clinical staff, helping them to be the most knowledgeable and effective educators and advocates that they can be for the clients we serve.”