Ever since Tyne Daly played the tough but compassionate social worker in the "Judging Amy" series, I have had a new appreciation for this profession. I had often consulted with the school social worker when I was an elementary school counselor in years past, but it wasn't until my husband needed serious rehab at a skilled nursing facility that I learned how the social worker could affect the lives of so many older people.

Keisha Rogers came to our rescue when she spent several anguishing hours facilitating my husband's re-admittance to a Medicare funded stay at a care center. This second chance for a six day a week physical therapy program would hopefully get him up to his walker once more. To most people that would not be a big breakthrough. To us it meant having my husband home once again after three months in a sterile environment, sleeping all alone or, at best, sharing a room with a total stranger - some in pain, others snoring loudly. And there was little opportunity for us to cuddle up in his hospital bed without someone crashing the scene with a state-of-the-art thermometer or blood pressure kit.

Just what would attract this young woman to choose this profession after first leaning toward psychology? I asked Keisha this question after sitting down with her in her office where she is in daily contact with 10 clients drawn from a total population of 30,000 health care enrollees. Her answer was multifaceted as she considered that psychology would narrowly cover a single individual as compared to serving the greater community in a way that could impact all of society. Her countenance softened as she mused, "I could even make change in the world as my work has helped families to make better choices in their lives."

During her college years she noticed that the social work department did not have the status that business and technology had. This increased her desire to make a difference in her field. Keisha then launched into a story of how she does make a difference. One day in her office her phone rang and she heard the voice of a frantic young single mother who cried out, "I am being evicted from my apartment and I have to move right away and I don't have the key to my new apartment." Keisha helped her get in contact with the owner who said there was a window open in the apartment and her client had permission to climb in to move in her belongings until he could get the key to her. Days like this were like adding the frosting to a basic one-egg cake.

Variety and diversity is a great part of her calling. She has helped pregnant teens, people who are mentally challenged, and the aging who make up 75 percent of her client base. Many need translators who are available using a three way calling system. Since much of her work is on the telephone facilitating needed services, her calm, sure attitude gives support to those in health crisis. But she does not make decisions for clients, rather giving them options from which they can choose - empowering them to learn to manage their own lives. It took one older client three years to make his decision about moving to a group home. Finally he embraced the fact that he would have more of the help he needed in this new environment and he could even take his dog with him.

Drawing upon the expertise of doctors and nurses, the social worker brings together the best resources available. Add to this the skill of a good listener, who is open and sensitive to the way a client may react to choices presented, and you have a successful helping person who says confidently, "When the client has been listened to and understood, the health care decision is more successful." The glow in her face as she talked about all this was evidence of her belief system that everyone counts and no one should be left out. Her involvement in crisis intervention, care management, primary care-team support, and liaison to the community has brought her to a new place in her life, a life of service to everyone-not just the privileged few.

So, be kind to your social worker who can help change your life when you most need an expert to help you wend your way through the health care system.

Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer and public speaker on issues such as facing aging with humor, counseling, women's concerns, the Holocaust and more. Contact her at gnkunkel@comcast.net