ABSTRACT
The Social Work Department of The Mount Sinai Hospital has, on local, national, and international levels, been recognized for its contributions. The progress made from its beginnings in 1906 to the end of the twentieth century has been documented (Rehr, Rosenberg, and Blumenfield, 1998). The department grew from a single social worker to a complement of 180 full-time employees in 2003. The development of social work followed the development of the remarkable scientific and medical innovations achieved by the institution’s professionals (Aufses and Niss, 2002). In addition, as Mount Sinai created its medical school within City University of New York in 1966, it recognized the contributions of social work to health care by incorporating a division of social work into the Department of Community Medicine. The department’s role in the education of social workers via its academic/practice model with Hunter College School of Social Work was also extended to a role in the education of medical students (Rehr and Caroff, 1986).
