Abstract

I. The Communityof the HospitalResponsibilities Social WorkerLeader:I. KNEESOCIAL WORKERS FIRST JOINED mental hospistaffs about a half century ago, they were regarded primarily as representatives of the community. They brought into the hospital information about a patient and his family which contributed to his diagnosis as well as to the decision about when he would be able to leave the hospital. Although this is still a major function of the hospital psychiatric social worker, the intervening years have brought about so many changes, both in the practice of social work in general and in the mental hospital’s program, that the social work and psychiatric professions have done considerable soul searching. Both ask for a new delineation of the true responsibilities of the hospital social worker. As hospitals themselves have looked increasingly out toward the community, so have social workers. In recent years, the Mental Hospital Institutes have been the forum for many thorough discussions on the importance of hospital-community interaction. At the Omaha Institute, mental hospital social workers, mindful of the Joint Commission’s recommendations, gathered to discuss how their community responsibilities have changed as the total hospital program has become more concerned with the community. In this changing situation,