NASW Virginia Chapter: Connect to End COVID-19

During the three-year Connect to End COVID-19 campaign the NASW Virginia Chapter implemented Chapter communications and outreach in Virginia on behalf of the initiative (2022-2024) and hosted a MI-SBIRT Training (2023, Virginia Chapter and Metro DC Chapter joint training) in collaboration with the UT Austin HBRT team.

The Virginia Chapter was one of 21 NASW Chapters that partnered with the NASW National Connect to End COVID-19 team in implementing a wide array of communications and outreach activities aimed at promoting vaccine confidence. Communications channels ranged from newsletters and targeted emails to NASW Chapter websites, Social Media, and in-person outreach to social workers at Chapter conferences and other events.

The Virginia Chapter also was one of 30 NASW Chapters that collaborated with UT Austin’s HBRT, in hosting 27 virtual MI-SBIRT trainings across the United States, primarily in states with low vaccination rates and high levels of vaccine hesitancy. These interactive trainings, led by HBRT trainers, introduced MI and SBIRT, and how these evidence-based modalities can be effectively deployed to help guide collaborative conversations with clients about COVID-19 vaccine decision-making. The complimentary, six-hour (one-day) trainings, included five complimentary CEUs for currently practicing, licensed NASW social work members.


NASW Virginia Chapter Interview: Outcomes

Debra Riggs

Debra Riggs, CAE—Executive Director, NASW Metro DC Chapter and NASW Virginia Chapter

What is the biggest success of Connect to End COVID-19, as related to the role NASW Chapters (and specifically your Chapter) played with communications and outreach on behalf of the grant? What are related smaller successes?

The Connect to End COVID-19 campaign enabled the Virginia Chapter and its nearly 2,800 members to engage directly in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency response. Vaccination is a personal decision, but the COVID-19 courses were truly life-saving and had plenty of evidence-based data that simply needed trusted messengers such as social workers to deliver it to even the most hesitant and often the most vulnerable of clients.

We found special success in educating social workers about the campaign during our in-person and virtual conferences throughout the pandemic. Using a multi-channel strategy to promote the conference and NASW membership, we could piggyback news of the Connect to End COVID-19 campaign with this outreach. Tactics included:

  • showcasing the campaign during my daily welcome speeches to conference attendees;
  • sharing information via our chapter activities posters in the tradeshow booth;
  • developing a postcard about the trainings and Connect to End COVID-19 microsite for inclusion in the swag bag given to all registrants;
  • including a special campaign slide designed to drive attendees to the Connect to End COVID-19 microsite for the between-session PowerPoint carousels;
  • ensuring staff at the booth were trained about the campaign and comfortable speaking about it to attendees; and,
  • highlighting the trainings and resources in the daily conference newsletters.

Because talk about COVID-19 was on the lips of nearly every registrant, the campaign could be readily mentioned in networking conversations as a tangible way for social workers to get involved and make a positive difference both for their own professional development and for the respectful work they do for their diverse clients.

How did social workers in your state benefit from your efforts on behalf of Connect to End COVID-19 (and the overall initiative, including NASW National communications, trainings, webinars, etc.)?

We have not surveyed our members to determine who actually participated in the trainings, downloaded resources, or accessed the Connect to End COVID-19 microsite for the latest news. However, by tracking the state’s data of COVID-19 hotspots, special population trends, government updates, and the like, our chapter was able to keep Virginia social workers well-informed about the unique impacts of the virus on our state and in their practice areas.

I think this—along with our targeted emails to social workers in low vaccination areas with high numbers of special populations—was hugely beneficial in building trust in the NASW brand and chapter, built awareness among social workers that NASW exists to serve them (especially during the disruption of a global pandemic), and provided complimentary CEs as an incentive to take trainings that perhaps some professionals may not have been able to afford or made time for.

I also think Virginia social workers have benefited from 24/7 access to news and resources on the Connect to End COVID-19 microsite, which they could access 24/7 as needed. This and the trainings strengthened their connection to NASW and connected them to experts who could support them by keeping them apprised of breaking research findings and honing critical decision making and interviewing skills.

Social workers by nature are doers, skilled problem solvers who want to do right by their clients and communities. This campaign was right up their alley in terms of shared values, leveraged expertise, and a passion to save lives.

Is there still work to be done, generally, related to COVID-19 and the impact(s) of the COVID-19 Pandemic? More specifically, is there still work to be done with special populations and the most vulnerable?

While the official pandemic ended in May 2023, the Virginia Chapter continues to promote the campaign and encourage attendance at the trainings, especially the last two, since they prepare us for a future in which we may well face other deadly viruses.

Along with the physical threat of such crises, the resulting mental and behavioral health fallout was tremendous—skyrocketing demand for treatment of myriad mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and addiction; a dramatic pivot in healthcare delivery technologies,an urgent timeline to save lives, and the battle against misinformation and disinformation that led to mass confusion and fear. Never has our profession been so “essential,” and I believe it will continue to grow in esteem in the eyes of the public and policymakers because of all that social workers bore on their shoulders for the past four years.

Virginia social workers were incredible in their commitment, courage, and ability to guide clients to the vaccination decisions that made the most sense for their families. But the state still has very low COVID vaccination of children and infants, for instance, and although higher in percentage, many Black men and rural residents have not received either the initial course of vaccine or boosters to keep themselves protected.

I fear that the well-publicized “end of the COVID-19 pandemic” and the fact that the virus has recently mutated to be less deadly or injurious for certain populations will give a false sense of security to populations who are at highest risk of hospitalization, long COVID, or death. We must continue to educate and encourage social workers to stay involved for the benefit of their clients and to keep up the momentum.

What are lessons learned, within the context of social work, from the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Social workers can adapt to change even faster than anticipated! The pivot to telehealth was a dramatic disruption of the entire profession, but our members overcame their concerns about new technologies and developing new systems from scratch and made it all happen for the benefit of their clients. Another important lesson was that social workers learned they needed to practice self-care more than ever to sustain the high pace, prevent vicarious trauma and burnout, and manage the overwhelming public trauma and grief they were dealing with daily.

They learned they could count on each other, their state chapter, and NASW to guide them and keep them informed in near real-time of the latest relevant research and trends so they could put that knowledge and training into practice immediately.

And I think they learned that they could leverage their expertise and the trust of their clients to impact lives at the most basic levels. Social workers deeply respect individual autonomy, and this value was tested, to be honest, but that training helped them maintain and build on trust at the most critical time—when clients are making life-impactful decisions such as vaccination choice. Our social workers learned that, although we are often in the background and are certainly undervalued as essential behavioral healthcare providers, we are critical messengers who can bring about change in ways no one else can. United, our profession can achieve phenomenal goals—COVID-19 certainly proved that. We will never be the same again.

What are lessons learned from the CDC vaccine confidence grant?

The Virginia Chapter learned that staff, leaders, and members could unite in a tangible, action-oriented campaign that—despite many challenges and fears for personal safety—would make a real difference in the lives of Virginia’s diverse residents. This funding enabled us to pay for additional content development, strategic communications, staff time, and other marketing collateral for an important cause. It has inspired us to seek other ways that the chapter can be a conduit for positive change and engagement, perhaps partnering with new government and organizational entities to advance shared goals.

I think the grant also taught us of the importance of staying flexible in periods of dramatic change, of identifying innovative ways to engage and serve members, and of even more effectively partnering with NASW to provide on-the-ground ideas and feedback on needed actions. As a leader of the chapter for more than 25 years, this experience was inspiring and moving. I personally felt challenged and deeply proud to be part of such a worthy endeavor.

How did social workers (NASW Members) benefit from the MI-SBIRT Trainings?

The Virginia and Metro DC chapters jointly held this training and had to cut off registration because it surpassed our large-size webinar attendee limit on Zoom! Because there was no official training survey conducted afterward, we do not have written testimonials but did receive informal positive feedback when staff was speaking with board members and others who attended.

One of the biggest benefits was to our rural members who often struggle to access high-quality trainings near them. This training allowed all Virginia social workers—especially those from rural areas such as southeastern Virginia—to participate in this campaign. I suspect that because it was focused on strengthening specific skills-development rather than simply sharing trends and news, this helped draw a big virtual crowd.

Anything else that you believe is important to mention?

Just that I hope the CDC and others are well-satisfied with the incredible efforts of our members, who literally risked their lives daily to do their jobs well and to meet record-breaking market demand. I appreciate the foresight of CDC and its partners to reach out to and invest in our well-trained profession to help them respond to this unprecedented crisis and to save millions of lives in creative and effective ways. Thank you!


NASW Virginia Chapter Communications: Campaign Highlights

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