Ontario Association of Social Workers and Think Research partner to increase access to mental health support through virtual care platform
Partnership will give province’s social workers access to Think Research’s virtual care platform as they respond to COVID-19
(Toronto, ON) April 28, 2020 – The Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW), the voice of social work in Ontario, is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with Think Research, a developer of virtual care technology and clinical treatment protocols, to jointly respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Through this partnership, Think Research will make its VirtualCare platform available to OASW members across Ontario. Adopting this technology will enable OASW members to rapidly offer virtual support services, including psychotherapy, to their clients while minimizing mutual exposure to COVID-19.
“During this time of social isolation, it is more important than ever that social workers are able to stay connected to provide vital mental health services to clients and communities,” says Dr. Deepy Sur, CEO of OASW. “People seeking help or currently in the care of a social worker need continued access to that support in order to maintain their well-being during these difficult times, strengthen coping skills, and find effective solutions.”
There are more than 20,000 Registered Social Workers (RSWs) in Ontario, making social work the largest regulated profession providing psychotherapy and counselling services in the province. Social workers can be found across diverse settings and disciplines providing essential mental health care, crisis intervention and system navigation to individuals, families and caregivers. Shifting to a virtual visit model will make it easier for people to continue accessing support from social workers online, from the safety of their homes.
“During the pandemic, virtual visits have become an important tool for mental health service providers like social workers, allowing them to continue their important work while also protecting themselves and their clients from potentially transmitting the virus,” says Sachin Aggarwal, CEO of Think Research. “We’re proud to partner with the OASW to ensure that people across Ontario can continue to get the support they need, from their own care providers, during this difficult time.”
About the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW)
OASW is the voice of social work in Ontario. It is a voluntary, bilingual, non-profit association representing approximately 6000 social workers. All members have a university degree in social work at the bachelor, master or doctoral level. OASW works to actively speak on behalf of social workers on issues of interest to the profession and advocates for the improvement of social policies and programs directly affecting social work practice and client groups served. For more information visit OASW.org or follow us on Twitter @ON_SocialWork.
About Think Research
Think Research, an enterprise clinical content and technology company, delivers evidence-based clinical tools grounded in best practice. Our focused mission is to organize the world’s health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. Since 2006, our cloud-based, digital tools have empowered clinicians around the world and have impacted millions of patients across all sectors of care: acute, primary, long term and community. We are proud to serve as a trusted health system partner to a rapidly growing client base that spans three continents and more than 2,200 healthcare facilities. For more information, visit www.thinkresearch.com or follow us on Twitter @TRChealth.
Media Contacts
Jasmine Ferreira, MSW, RSW
Manager of Communications and Member Experience
Ontario Association of Social Workers
jtf@oasw.org
Mark Sakamoto
EVP, Think Research
Direct: 647-691-6031
