Membership
You have successfully logged onto the confidential section of the web site that is only accessible to members of the Society for Transplant Social Workers. You will have an opportunity to change your password in the system, so please keep this password in a safe pl ace because you are the only one that will have a copy of it. We are excited to share this interactive section with you. This is our opportunity as a growing professional organization to increase communication internationally and expand our knowledge base related to new legislative issues, expanding research and continued ethical dilemmas in the ever-changing area of transplantation.
If you need help navigating through the Member's section click here.
STSW News:
Call For Papers!
The Planning Committee is requesting abstracts for presentation at the 27th Annual International Conference and encourages you to submit a proposal! Please download the Call for Papers and Abstract Guidelines! The deadline for submission is March 23, 2012
It's Time to Renew!
Membership in the Society for Transplant Social Workers is for a calendar year. The earlier in the year you join, the more opportunities you have to take advantage of our online community and the more issues of Progress in Transplantation you'll receive. Don't delay! Renew your membership now.
LaMantia, Shore Win Top Transplant Social Work Awards
Julie LaMantia and Laurie Shore won top honors from the Society for Transplant Social Workers (STSW) at its annual conference in Tampa on October 5, 2011. Each year the Society recognizes two social workers for significant contributions to the transplant field.
LaMantia, a social worker at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, AZ, is a longtime board member of the Society and has co-chaired an international conference. She is an active trainer in the transplant mentor program. She co-facilitates a liver transplant support group and has been a field instructor for Arizona State University, preparing social workers as they launch their careers.
Shore, who practices at Tampa General Hospital in Florida, has been a leader in both the dialysis and the transplant social work communities. She facilitates a popular kidney transplant support group. She is a regular speaker at professional conferences and has written transplant articles for professionals and for patients. She is a Certified Clinical Transplant Social Worker, a member of the STSW board, and was co-chair of the 2011 STSW conference planning committee.
LaMantia and Shore won the Lee Suszycki and Judy Midelfort Memorial Awards, respectively. Suszycki's passion and vision led her to found the Society 25 years ago. Midelfort, a founding member, was one of the first social workers to publish on psychosocial issues in transplantation.
Tampa Welcomed, Warmed Transplant Social Workers
Sex, drugs and transplant. Ex-vivo organ perfusion. Ethics and boundaries. These are just a few of the exciting topics into which over 160 participants delved at the 26th Annual Society for Transplant Social Workers International Conference in Tampa in October. Interspersed with the educational sessions were many opportunities to meet with one another to share experiences and questions.
Sharks and jellyfish provided a nice break from the intensive learning as Society members enjoyed a gala at the Florida Aquarium. And a couple of African penguins made a delightful surprise visit.
Social workers left the conference energized and eager to try lots of new ideas. Several committed to collaborate on creating a comprehensive psychosocial assessment tool that they plan to share at the next conference, which will take place in San Francisco September 5-7, 2012.
Many thanks to the Tampa conference planning committee, who pulled off an excellent event!
Tampa Conference Planning Committee members (L-R):
Kelli Walker, Lisa Goodwin, Mary Freeman, Micki Nordurft-Luck, Anne LaFleur, Laurie Shore, Lisa Rule, Jane Harrison, Nancy Ford, Elaine Gustetic
San Francisco, Here We Come!
You do not want to miss the 2012 conference in San Francisco, California. The planning committee is full of enthusiasm and innovative ideas. They have some wonderful experiences in store for you. Turn on your speakers and click here for a multimedia taste. And then mark your calendars. The 27th Annual International STSW Conference will be held September 5-7, 2012. 
Janet Stevenson, 2012 Conference Chair
Members Spring to Action
STSW members are clearly eager to deepen their connections with the Society. Many people seized opportunities for professional growth and service at the Tampa conference. Here is a sampling of the wonderful work that is underway:
Conference sites through 2015 are now set! Stepping forward to host are:
| Mary Beth Callahan | Dallas, TX | 2013 |
| Noelle Dimitri | Boston, MA | 2014 |
| Kim Ansley & Melissa Skillman | Columbus, OH | 2015 |
We had so many volunteers to collaborate on a new psychosocial assessment tool that the committee co-chairs, Annette Humberson and Barrett Gray, removed the sign up sheet before the conference ended. The committee will be working on a comprehensive tool and will share it with everyone at the 2012 conference in San Francisco. This endeavor was ranked as the highest priority for the Society by 2011 survey respondents.
The Society will soon embark on a review of our mission. Part of that process will involve sorting out how to incorporate destination VAD social workers. Several members signed up to work on the mission review and to be on a VAD task force. Stay tuned for requests for input in these areas.
The board is sincerely grateful for this outpouring of energy and commitment. Thank you.
News Archives:
Kudos to Barrett Gray and his Website Committee!
January, 2011 The website committee of the Society for Transplant Social Workers is proud to announce the launching of a new Society website. This new website has several exciting features:
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online membership application
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opportunity to pay for membership and conference registration online using PayPal
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a heroes section where we will highlight different people who are important to our field
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the history of our 25-year-old organization
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news about transplant-related issues, both internal and external
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a new forum for members' online discussion
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detailed STSW survey results
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a rich bank of resources for general transplant social work needs as well as those that are organ- or population-specific
Many of the features listed above are in the members only section of the website. It is important that you log in as a member each time you visit the website to take full advantage of all it has to offer.
We hope that you will enjoy navigating around this new website and finding the treasures it has to offer. We would welcome feedback and new contributions to it as well. If you have a great conference picture you'd like to share, we want it! (See if you can find Elvis....) If you know about some wonderful resource that we've missed, please send it the contact person identified on the appropriate webpage, or send it to the website committee chair. If you remember who helped organize a particular conference, or some fascinating piece of our history that we've overlooked, let the historian know. The launching of the new site is just the beginning. The website will grow and improve in response to your requests and feedback.
Website committee: |
Other contributing authors: |
| A. Barrett Gray, chair | Nancy Arnold |
| Mary Freeman | Sondra Cohen |
| Deb Gordon | Sandy McMath |
| Annette Humberson | |
| Susan Davis Long | |
| Laurie McDonald |
Gleason, Voorhes Earn CCTSW
January, 2011 Susan Gleason and Patricia Voorhes are the latest Society members to earn the Certified Clinical Transplant Social Work (CCTSW) credential. Both social workers are employed at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Congratulations to both of them!
There are now 64 active CCTSWs. If you are interested in learning more about the credential, please see the CCTSW Credential page.
Epstein Receives STSW Research Grant
December, 2010 Flavio Epstein is the principal investigator in a study titled “The Impact of Depression, Anxiety, Health Locus of Control, and Cognitive Functioning on Adherence to Immunosuppressant Medication in Post-Heart Transplant Recipients.” He received a research grant from the Society in partial support of his research expenses. Epstein is a psychologist with Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara, CA.
The Society for Transplant Social Workers offers research grant funding of up to $5,000 per year for its members. Requirements include submission of research findings for publication in Progress in Transplantation and a presentation of the work at a Society annual conference. Please click here to learn more about the grant application process.
Dimitri, Reed Publish Article on Caregiver Strain and Quality of Life
December, 2010 Noelle Dimitri and Amanda Reed co-authored “Spouse caregivers of kidney transplant patients: quality of life and psychosocial outcomes,” published in the December 2010 issues of Progress in Transplantation. Dimitri and Reed are social workers at The Transplant Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA.
STSW members are entitled a complimentary continuing education credit for taking the quiz that follows this article.
Noelle Dimitri
STSW Board Thanks Outgoing President Mary Freeman
October, 2010 Mary Freeman believes in getting things done. She had not been a member of the Society for very long when a call came for conference hosts. Mary volunteered, and pulled off a wonderful conference in Orlando, FL, in 2002--without a conference committee! Her husband Jim, who is well known to and loved by many STSW members, helped.
Mary's passion is pediatric transplant social work. She focused attention on that population within the Society, leading break out sessions and encouraging networking among other pediatric social workers. She even wrote a book to help children awaiting heart transplant, Red's True Heart.
For the last several years Mary led the Society as our president. She shared her energy and enthusiasm with all of us. It was her vision that led to the Certified Clinical Transplant Social Worker credential. And as she approaches retirement, she has left the board but taken on another project as a parting gift to us: She is joining with Laurie Shore in hosting the 2011 conference in Tampa, FL.
Mary and Jim are planning a trek through Spain after they retire, along the Camino de Santiago. As a token of our appreciation of her dedication and hard work, and Jim's, the board gave her a compass and a handheld GPS. She led us for a long time; now we hope to be a part of helping her find her new way.
Winetroub, Hart Win Top Transplant Social Work Awards
October, 2010 Carol Winetroub and Jan Hart won top honors from the Society for Transplant Social Workers (STSW) at its annual conference in Atlanta on October 21, 2010. Each year the Society recognizes two social workers for significant contributions to the transplant field.
Winetroub, a social worker for the Iowa City VA Medical Center, was a charter member of the STSW committee that developed the Certified Clinical Transplant Social Worker (CCTSW) credential. She helped secure recognition of the credential by the Veterans Administration. Now almost 50% of Society members are CCTSWs.
Hart, who practices at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, has served on the STSW board in several capacities and was just elected Vice President. She has worked hard behind the scenes to keep the Society both vibrant and focused.
Winetroub and Hart won the Lee Suszycki and Judy Midelfort Memorial Awards, respectively. Suszycki's passion and vision led her to found the Society 25 years ago. Midelfort, a founding member, was one of the first social workers to publish on psychosocial issues in transplantation.
Annual Conference Sets Record
October, 2010 A record number of people attended the twenty-fifth anniversary conference of the Society for Transplant Social Workers in Atlanta, GA, on October 20-22, 2010. Over 180 people attended the sold-out conference, which addressed current research and psychosocial and ethical issues in transplant social work.
Hand transplant, health literacy, and the implications of social networking on clinical practice were among the topics addressed by dynamic experts in the field. New transplant social workers and veterans alike were treated to a wide range of workshops that focused on particular areas of practice. Conference goers said they faced hard choices about which of over 20 stimulating sessions to attend.
Many thanks to the stellar team who put this wonderful conference together:
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David Cooper |
Kelly Sprinkle |
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Sandy McMath |
Tierney Hill |
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Jan Marie Robertson |
Hannah Hamby |
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Pat Tatro |
Maggie Gignilliat |
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Tracey Shelby |
Rakeal McKnight |
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Gloria Taylor |
Candace McCreight |
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Alicia Wood |
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