Years after an undiagnosed injury, Barry Ray underwent surgery that involved placing rods and plates into his neck.
It cut off feeling to his left arm and left leg. He is slowly losing function of his left hand.
Ray struggled when his doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to work again. He began wrestling with the paperwork to get disability benefits.
“I tried to do it myself, but trying to even understand the paperwork … is impossible without an interpreter,” said Ray.
His doctor referred him to the social work program at the St. Albert & Sturgeon Primary Care Network. That’s where Ray met social worker Eve Crowston, who helped him fill out applications for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped and the Canada Pension Plan disability benefits.
“Even a normal person would have trouble. Their forms are very particular and her knowing the system made everything attainable,” said Ray.
Crowston was hired by the PCN in April 2013. She is the care network’s first social worker.
Her role is to act as a conduit between doctors, patients and government agencies, she explained. Either people aren’t aware of some of the benefits and services available to them, or they don’t know if they are eligible.
“We have a great community of providers; people just don’t know how to access them. I’m taking the burden off of the doctors and nurses to help out with the forms,” she said.
Crowston does referrals to community agencies such as the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village, the Salvation Army and the Stop Abuse in Families Society.
“I think having a partner over at PCN really provides seamless service to clients – it’s only one phone call away,” said Suzan Krecsy, executive director of the food bank.
The social work program also helps food bank clients access PCN services, educate seniors on their financial benefits though the government (old age security and guaranteed income support) and expedite the process for getting a letter of medical support from a patient’s doctor, said Crowston.
Ray, 58, was initially denied pension plan disability benefits when he first applied.
“I went one-and-a-half years without any money coming in at all. My wife had to work two jobs. We would have probably lost our house because we were using up all our savings,” he said.
He said he wouldn’t be where he is today without the program.
There are daunting parts to the system, admitted Crowston, and her job is to help remove those roadblocks and advocate for clients.
To book an appointment with the social worker, a PCN physician or a member of the primary care team must refer patients.
By the numbers
Since the end of August 2013, 123 people have used the PCN's social work program, amounting to 434 visits.<br />• 39 per cent of visits were related to finding basic needs – food and affordable housing<br />• 21 per cent of visits were for help with applications and government advocacy. <br />•19 per cent of visits were related to income support and financial concerns.
