National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Study Update
Dear Colleagues,
As you recall, in April of this year our President, Tom Sedgwick shared an update with you regarding our ongoing participation on a National advisory group that worked to secure over $1 million in funding to launch a consensus study on integrating social needs care into the delivery of health care to improve the nation’s health. The study will be conducted by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and we encouraged our members to consider applying to be part of an expert committee being formed. Last week the provisional membership of the committee was announced on the NASEM website. The link to the committee webpage is: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/CommitteeView.aspx?key=49935.
The committee will hold its first meeting on July 16-17, 2018, in Washington, DC (at the Keck Center, 500 Fifth St., NW, Washington, DC 20001). A public (open) session will be held on the afternoon of Monday, July 16. Tom and I will be able to participate either in person or via web conference to talk with the committee about the study and, specifically, the statement of task. In addition, all sponsoring organizations (SSWLHC among them) are invited to submit brief statements directly to NASEM by June 22nd about why this study is important to health care social workers, like those represented by our organization and to the public at large. We are currently drafting a statement.
While NASEM did not select any members from SSWLHC for the committee, Tom and I will continue to participate as a sponsoring organization in forums and on the National advisory group to advocate for our clients and our profession. We will also provide you with regular updates regarding the study that will take place over the next 18 months. As always, please reach out to Tom or me if you have any questions.
Heather Brungardt
President-Elect
Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care