Top 10 Things You May Be Interested to Know About VNS Health’s SSCoP!

To help celebrate Social Work Month, here are 10 interesting facts about VNS Health’s SSCoP and our social services team member colleagues:

1. SSCoP? What’s that?  SSCoP—or The Social Services Community of Professionals—is the grassroots, peer-led group of VNS Health social service professionals.

2. VNS Health has over 550 social service professional team members—and all of them are part of SSCoP. Our SSCoP has just over 550 team members, bringing social service professionals together across programs, regions and roles at VNS Health. If you have a current or future career in a helping profession with a psychosocial focus, you’re a member!

3. The SSCoP’s mission is about connecting and well-being. Recognizing that many people in the social work field may feel isolated at times, the SSCoP’s mission is to connect, strengthen and elevate social work professionals across VNS Health.

4. How is SSCoP different from an ERG? Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are focused on people’s personal identities and backgrounds. VNS Health’s SSCoP is what’s known as “community of practice,” where members are linked by their professional interests. VNS Health’s SSCoP started out as an ERG and then became a community of practice.

5. How long has VNS Health’s SSCoP been around? The SSCoP formed in the fall of 2022 to offer a stronger connection around the social services professional identity, to create the framework for social services team members to come together and share resources, and to enable a leadership team to form.

6. All VNS Health team members are invited to attend SSCoP’s Community Connections Series. The series, which takes place on Zoom, features guest speakers from regional community agencies who share information and resources on social service topics of interest to the medical professional. The most recent event, entitled “Elder Abuse 101,” was held on January 26. Future topics will include dementia caregiver support, mental health and public assistance resources. If you’d like to be added to the Community Connection Series invite list, please email: [email protected].

7. How SSCoP team members stay engaged. SSCoP uses quarterly Zoom membership meetings, group emails, and Viva Engage, our VNS Health internal social media site, to keep members updated on SSCoP news, including free weekly continuing social work professional education events in the community. In the future, SSCoP plans to post internal VNS Health job opportunities for social work professionals on Viva Engage.

8. SSCoP holds regular in-person gatherings, too. To keep connected, SSCoP team members meet regularly for “Pop-Ups”—in-person happy hours and after-work gatherings, where they’re able to chat, catch up, and simply enjoy each other’s company as colleagues.

9. SSCoP is having a profound impact. At the end of last year, SSCoP sent out a satisfaction survey to its members. The results? 70% said that, thanks to SSCoP, they feel more connected to other VNS Health social work professionals; 57% said they feel more connected to VNS Health as an organization; 61% felt the SSCoP helped strengthen their practice; and 70% felt elevated as a social work professional.

10. Meet the SSCoP leadership team! The five members of the current SSCoP leadership team are: Jessica Aitken, Education and Development Lead; Juliana Leach, Listening and Advocacy Lead; Elizabeth “Lizzie” Cogan, Chair; Margarita Roldan, Relationships and Communication Lead; and Maria Brincat-Huber, Community Resources Lead. The team meets weekly to discuss collaborative opportunities and plan events.