Every illness, no matter how slight, can affect the emotional and social wellbeing of both you and your family. During this period of change, there are social workers available to help you.

The Social Services Department at USC University Hospital is comprised of professionally trained and educated social workers who are an integral part of the multidisciplinary health care team. Our social workers have the expertise to enable you and your family to cope more effectively with problems that often accompany an illness or hospitalization.

Services provided by our social workers include:

• Psychological Counseling & Support - Individual, family & group intervention to enhance coping with emotional stress.
• Crisis Intervention - Support and assistance for sudden illness, injury or death.
• Liaison and Information - Facilitate communication among patient, family and members of the health care team.
• Discharge Planning - Facilitate the transfer between hospital and home, or the transfer to another health care facility.
• Referral to Outside Services - Information and coordination to appropriate community programs and agencies.

We also encourage you to visit a comprehensive list of links on this site to a variety of governmental and not-for-profit agencies offering social and disease-specific services.

If you or your family want to speak to a social worker, please call the Social Services Department at (323) 442-8838 or contact a member of your health care team to arrange a visit.