Debra L. Sparks, LMSW dsparks@austin.utexas.edu 512-731-3705 EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS Licensed t practice Scial Wrk in the state f Texas. Master f Scial Wrk degree, Suthwest Texas State University, May 2002. Certified fr Independent Practice Licensure Bachelr f Scial Wrk degree, Summa Cum Laude, Suthwest Texas State University, May 2001. WORK EXPERIENCE Clinical Assciate Prfessr f Scial Wrk/Steve Hicks Schl f Scial Wrk at The University f Texas at Austin August 2012 - present Assciate Directr f the Institute fr Cllabrative Health Research and Practice Member f Austin Area Partnership fr Mindful Health task frce spnsred by the Health Disparities Team f The University f Texas Dell Medical Schl. Teach Scial Wrk in Healthcare curse in the MSSW prgram. Teach Interprfessinal Educatin curse titled Transfrmative Teams in Healthcare with students frm the Steve Hicks Schl f Scial Wrk, the Schl f Nursing, Del Medical Schl and the Cllege f Pharmacy Teach Lss and Grief: Individual, Family, and Cultural Perspectives at bth the graduate and undergraduate level. Prgram Directr fr SW HEALS (Scial Wrk Healthcare Educatin and Leadership Schlars), a grant funded schlarship and fellwship prgram fcused n attracting and educating a new generatin f BSW and MSSW students wh are interested in wrking in medical scial wrk. Teach Practicum I, Practicum II and Integrative Field Seminar in the fall and spring academic semesters, which includes prviding instructin and supervisin t BSW field students and faculty liaisn services t BSW field students and MSSW final field students. Respnsible fr creating and maintaining prfessinal relatinships with crdinating agencies. Prvide educatin, supervisin and supprt t field instructrs. Prvide final field advising t BSW students entering field. Mentr first field MSSW students entering the Steve Hicks Schl f Scial Wrk. Additinal Respnsibilities Serve n department specific cmmittees as assigned, which currently include: BSW Prgram Cmmittee BSW Admissins Subcmmittee Cmmunity and Prfessinal Develpment Cmmittee Field Educatin Cmmittee Field Instructr Appreciatin Subcmmittee Faculty Liaisn Subcmmittee, Field Educatin Cmmittee Emergency Mbilizatin Cmmittee Cultivate university, cmmunity, reginal, state and natinal relatinships thrugh presentatins and speaking engagements. Wrk with the Schl f Scial Wrk, the Schl f Nursing, Dell Medical Schl and the Cllege f Pharmacy t create and facilitate interdisciplinary educatinal experiences thrugh simulatin activities, including the Mck Disaster Drill, Pverty, Alchl Detx, End f Life and Hspital Simulatin Events. Member f the University f Texas Medical Reserve Crp prvide educatin, training and service t the University f Texas cmmunity in preparatin fr, r in actuality f, disasters.
Palliative Care Team Scial Wrker/Sctt & White Healthcare June 2011 June 2012 Member f an interdisciplinary team specializing in treating the emtinal, spiritual and physical symptms f patients with acute r chrnic illness, r at the end f life, their caregivers and family members. Integral part f new Palliative Care prgram develpment. Skilled in crisis interventin services fr patients and families in a medical envirnment. Facilitate family cnferences t assess psychscial needs f patients and caregivers. Excel in cmplex discharge planning. Prficient in timely and accurate medical dcumentatin. Prvide individual and family cunseling services, with emphasis n anticipatry grief, healthy bereavement, and transitinal issues. Prvide supprtive services t critical care staff thrugh the develpment and implementatin f prgrams aimed at increasing awareness f cmpassin fatigue and secndary trauma. Prvide supervisin fr Master f Scial Wrk students. Serve n Sctt & White Healthcare cmmittee t initiate, educate and train staff in use f the MOLST (Medical Orders fr Life Sustaining Treatment). C-authr f research grant t develp best practice standards fr palliative care chaplaincy. Additinal Respnsibilities Faculty f Humanities Department f Texas A&M University Medical Schl teaching curse in Clinical Ethics t first year medical students. Teach class n Cultural Cmpetency in End f Life Care as part f ELNEC (End f Life Nursing Educatin Cnsrtium). Serve as member f the Ethics Cmmittee f Sctt & White Healthcare system as First Respnder fr ethics cnsultatins. Serve as member f Palliative Care Best Practices cmmittee. Prvide instructin t first year anesthesilgy and internal medicine interns n palliative care scial wrk. Hspice Scial Wrker/Hspice Austin s Christpher Huse April 2007 May 2011 Prvide scial services n an interdisciplinary team in a 15 bed inpatient hspice facility. Respnsible fr accurate and timely cmpletin f psychscial assessment upn admissin, in additin t crisis interventin services fr patients and families. Prvide leadership fr weekly interdisciplinary meetings and cunseling t individuals, families and grups, with emphasis n anticipatry grief and bereavement. C-facilitate bereavement supprt grups fr Families in Grief series. Grief cunselr fr children at Camp Braveheart a camping experience fr schl-aged children wh have experienced a persnal lss. Designated speaker fr fundraising and public awareness events fr Hspice Austin. Supervise Master f Scial Wrk interns Prvide frmal mentring t new scial wrkers within agency. Directr f Scial Services and Admissin/Deer Creek f Wimberley Octber 2005 April 2007 Prvide direct scial wrk care and supervisin f Scial Wrk team prviding medical scial wrk fr bth shrt-term rehabilitatin and lng-term residents f 122 bed lng term care facility. Respnsible fr accurate cmpletin f admissin prcess, cmmunity educatin prgrams, and educatinal in-services t team members. Prvide individual, family and grup cunseling with emphasis n transitins, grief and lss.
Certified Eden Assciate fr Lng Term Care. Facilitated Memry Skills Grup fr Patients with Mild and Mderate Dementia. Facilitated Sensry Integratin Grup fr Peple with Alzheimer s Disease. Prvide supervisin fr Bachelr and Master f Scial Wrk interns. Crdinatr f Supprt & Scial Services/McKenna Rehabilitatin Institute May 2002 Octber 2005 In additin t respnsibilities as Medical Scial Wrker fr the acute inpatient rehabilitatin unit and fr the utpatient rehabilitatin unit, serve n administrative team fr 20 bed inpatient hspital with 46 team members as manager f the Admissin and Reimbursement department. Senir member f marketing team fr inpatient unit in rle f liaisn with referring physicians, hspital, and cmmunity at large. Respnsible fr cmmunity educatin and public awareness prgrams fr pst acute care services. Prvide individual, family and grup cunseling services with emphasis n transitins, grief and lss. Direct supervisr fr Admissin and PPS persnnel. Respnsible fr assuring unit cmpliance t CMMS, PPS, and JCAHO regulatins. Certified by the Natinal Parkinsn Fundatin fr multidisciplinary team assessment and treatment f persns with Parkinsn Disease. Crdinate patient care in an interdisciplinary treatment team setting and facilitate daily staffing fr the inpatient unit and weekly staffing fr the utpatient unit. ACCOMPLISHMENTS & HONORS Presenter at BPD Annual Cnference March 2017 Teaching BSW Students t Assess and Intervene with Disenfranchised Grief in Practice C-Presenter at BPD Annual Cnference March 2017 Creating Opprtunities t Engage Students in Interprfessinal Educatin Simulatin Activities C-Presenter at Schl Scial Wrk Cnference, February 2017. Hearing Vices: An Experiential Simulatin n Auditry Hallucinatins Guest Speaker at The University f Texas Cllege f Pharmacy. Lecture title: Death & Dying: Persnal, Prfessinal and Cultural Influences fr Pharmacy Practice. Presenter at GRACE Event, The University f Texas at Austin, January 2017. Disenfranchised Grief in Older Adults C-presenter at BPD Annual Cnference April 2016 Engaging in Ethics: Preparing Scial Wrk Students t Lead Ethical Cnversatins Presenter at Texas New Mexic Hspice Organizatin s Annual Cnference February 2016 Ethical Issues Fr Scial Wrk Practice in Hspice and Palliative Care Presenter at Texas New Mexic Hspice Organizatin s Annual Cnference February 2015 An Effective IDT: Addressing Cnflict Within an Interdisciplinary Team C-presenter at BPD Annual Cnference March 2015 Scial Wrk in Actin: The Benefits f Interprfessinal Simulatin Activities Hybrid Integrative Seminar: Creative Appraches t Expanding and Enhancing Field Educatin Featured speaker at Greater Austin Scial Wrk Cuncil meeting January 2016 Featured speaker at UT SSW Grace Event Octber 2015 C-presenter at CSWE Annual Cnference Octber 2014 Enhancing the Field Integrative Seminar Experience Thrugh the Use f a Hybrid Class Featured speaker at UT SSW Grace Event September 2014 Presenter at Texas New Mexic Hspice Organizatin s Annual Cnference April 2014 When There is Mre T Leave Behind Than Just Stuff end f life issues with lder adults
The Ethics f Advcating fr Yur Patient Appinted member f the Texas New Mexic Hspice Organizatin s Scial Wrk Advisry Bard 2012 t present Featured speaker at UT SSW Grace Event Nvember 2013 Featured speaker at Hspice Austin event May 2013 When There s Mre T Leave Behind Than Just Stuff end f life issues with lder adults Featured speaker at UT SSW Grace Event February 2013 When There s Mre T Leave Behind Than Just Stuff end f life issues with lder adults Featured speaker at the Sctt & White Bereavement Cnference September 15, 2012 Helping Smene Grieve Their Own Death Featured speaker at the TNMHO Scial Wrk Seminar June 22, 2012 An Effective IDT: Diffusing Cnflict Within the Team Faculty presenter at the Healthcare Calitin f Texas Hspice and Palliative Care Cnference. Expected and Unexpected Benefits f Palliative Care Starting Frm Scratch: Building an Inpatient Palliative Care Team Presenter at End f Life Nursing Educatin Cnsrtium (ELNEC) Cultural Cnsideratins in End-f-Life Care Presenter at American Academy f Hspice and Palliative Medicine Cnference 2009 Using Family Cnferencing T Address Family Cnflict Presenter at Lng Term Care Seminar Suthwest Texas State University n April 12, 2002 A Practitiner s Guide t Culturally Sensitive Practice fr Death and Dying Significance and Implicatins fr Healthcare Practice Ry F. Mitte Schlar (Graduate Schl Schlarship) Outstanding Undergraduate Scial Wrk Student 2000-2001 Phi Alpha Hnr Sciety. Glden Key Natinal Hnr Sciety. President f Alpha Chi Natinal Hnr Sciety, SWTSU Ita Chapter, 2000-2001. Phi Eta Sigma Natinal Hnr Sciety. Recipient f 2000 SWTSU Alpha Chi Schlarship fr essay titled Wh s Living the American Dream?. Winner f 2000 Department f Scial Wrk Cntest fr vide titled: Pregnancy, Educatin and Parenting, highlighting the strengths f teenage parents wrking tward their high schl diplmas. VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE 2014 Present. Serve n multiple cmmittees serving parishiners and the hmeless cmmunity thrugh Gruene United Methdist Church, Gruene, Texas. September 2009 2011. Facilitate Living Well With Cancer mnthly supprt grup fr patients and caregivers in Hays Cunty. January 2009 May 2011. Serve n End f Life Public Educatin Speaker Series Cmmittee t facilitate grant aimed at prviding end f life educatin t public sectr in Central Texas. January 2008 May 2011. Cmmittee member n the Hartfrd Fundatin Practicum Partnership Fundatin (currently named GRACE) thrugh Texas State University and the University f Texas fr develpment f gerntlgical cmpetencies fr Scial Wrkers. 2007 present. Cmmittee member fr Kyle/Buda Relay fr Life thrugh the American Cancer Sciety. 2004 2012. Guest Lecturer fr Schls f Scial Wrk at the University f Texas and Texas State University. 2003 2012. Field Instructr fr the Schls f Scial Wrk at the University f Texas and Texas State University. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Member f Cuncil n Scial Wrk Educatin Member f Baccalaureate Prgram Directrs Member f the Texas New Mexic Hspice Organizatin Member f the Natinal Assciatin f Scial Wrkers
Member f Greater Austin Scial Wrkers PUBLICATIONS C-authr f A Practitiner s Guide t Culturally Sensitive Practice fr Death and Dying. (Published by the Lng-Term Care Institute in April 2002)