Employee Spotlight: Jill Rogers and Jaclyn Pfeifer

Meet Jill and Jaclyn:

The Liberty Hospital Foundation works with the Care Management Department throughout many of its core programs. One of the areas of the Care Management Team that work very closely with the Foundation, are the social work professionals. Jill Rogers, MSW, LCSW, Manager of Social Work and Care Transition, helps oversee the social work and care transition teams as a support role to help triage patients, and assess what areas of need the Hospital is able to be a support tool to assist with discharge needs. Jaclyn Pfeifer, LMSW, is the social worker for the Birthing Center.

Q: Tell us more about yourself

A: Jaclyn has been at Liberty Hospital for two years and came to work with an extensive background in working with children and families. “I was very fortunate when I applied at Liberty Hospital that there was a position for Social Work in the Birthing Center. I love working with that population! Our role at the Birthing Center is a little unique from other social workers in the Hospital, given the types of patients we see. I help screen all of our families that come in for labor and delivery. Most of the time, this screening takes place in a face-to-face assessment to make sure that families have all of the resources they might need to care for a newborn. We help coordinate getting them connected to organizations and resources that can help when there is a need. I also provide supportive information on postpartum anxiety and depression. If we have families whose newborn is in the Special Care Nursery, we check in as a friendly face of a supportive nature. There can be additional special circumstances in which we will help coordinate surrogacy and adoption plans after delivery of a newborn; there are agencies, attorneys, and a lot of parties involved that we help coordinate communication with between our patients, our staff, and the prospective parents involved.” Our nurses are very connected to their patient’s care, and they are wonderful about alerting Jaclyn to potential family issues that may require intervention and assistance from Social Work.

Jill has been with Liberty Hospital for over 30 years, and oversees the social work team. “I am here as a support function for Social Workers and Transition of Care team helping to triage situations, determine needs that we are able to assist patients with during a hospital stay, and problem solving through difficult situations.” Additionally, Jill and Jaclyn both shared their experiences with providing supportive short-term counseling to individuals in need. “We practice a lot of empathetic and active listening, deescalate situations, and are able to refer to private practice therapy if additional counseling is recommended. If a plan needs to go into place, we are a support role and a professional team member for extra advice in those situations.” Jill explains.

Q: What is so special about being a social worker, especially in the Birthing Center?

A: “One thing I try to keep in mind,” says Jaclyn, “is that for a lot of parents in the birthing center, this is probably their first interaction with a social worker as it relates to their kiddo. There can be some misconception, where people think they’re ‘in trouble’ or that ‘something is wrong.’ It’s really important for that first interaction to be relaxed and comfortable so that the parent(s) have a first positive experience. I try to remind people that we are here for them if they need us, and can provide them with tools and resources. I love that if we do identify a need, like a family who needs a car seat that we have programs like Kyleigh’s Gift to connect them with and fill those needs.” Jill added in, “When a patient has a need, we have all of these great tools available to help ease the potential burden. People are very appreciative of Kyleigh’s Gift supplies when they do receive them.” Jaclyn also plays a special role in bereavement services through Kyleigh’s Gift Program. “While we recognize that during this difficult time, I am one of many faces a family will encounter while hospitalized, I work very hard to offer additional support and provide hands on tools for families to take home, so that they have them in hand, when they are ready to look through them they have them available.”

Q: What are some of the ways Liberty Hospital Foundation is able to help the social work team?

A: The Kyleigh’s Gift program through Liberty Hospital Foundation provides many different resources, education needs, and supplies to families. Jaclyn and Jill help determine the need to distribute these supplies. Jaclyn summarizes, “If the patient is already established with WIC or SNAP programs, we can connect them to additional help beyond that, through Kyleigh’s Gift. For example, we are able to provide diapers, formula, car seats, and pack n’ plays through Kyleigh’s Gift when the need exists. NICU families will receive café meal vouchers through Kyleigh’s Gift, as well as we are able to connect them to TreeHouse for any extended stay needs.” In addition, Jill adds that the care closet and patient transportation are also a huge help to patients who struggle with transportation home from the hospital and have a discharge clothing needs. “We have clothes for patients that are discharging and are in need of clean clothes and do not have a support person to bring clothes for them. This clothing resource is available for any department in the hospital with a patient need. Uber Transport is a great way to get patients rides who do not have a way to get home safely. This is a newer program to Liberty Hospital and is a smooth, streamlined, and safe experience that has been unmatched. We have struggled in the past with transportation that is efficient for hospital discharges, and Uber Health has filled that void for us. We serve such a wide spanning demographic of areas from Liberty to the Iowa border, and these patients sometimes come to us without a way to get back home.” The Patient Assistance Program provides many other services, in addition to transportation, that may are mentioned here.

Q: Where do you see the future of the Social Work profession heading?

A: Jaclyn mentions that, “we are in an era of change and increased professionalization. The requirements at Liberty Hospital, for example, are a Master’s Degree in Social Work. I would not be surprised if soon there may be a requirement to be a licensed Social Worker as well, which is not necessarily required with all jobs but this seems to be the direction the profession is heading.” With extra professionalization comes a bigger and more robust future for our Social Work team, Jill notes.

Q: Why did you choose to work at Liberty Hospital?

A: “I am in my 32nd year as a Medical Social Worker,” says Jill, “and the majority of my career has been at Liberty Hospital. I am very dedicated to this community and the patients. I grew up here, I live here, and I want to continue to support this community with the work I get to do at the hospital. I also care very much about the relationships that are built over the years; coworkers become your friends and family.” Jaclyn agrees adding, “I love that Liberty is truly a community non-profit hospital. I was born and raised in the Northland, and I very much feel like a part of this community. I love that we serve such a wide demographic with so much diversity. We have wonderful experiences with so many different patients in the Birthing Center!”

Thank you for all that you do for the Liberty Hospital community, Jill and Jaclyn!

Published on June 20, 2024

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