NEW LOOK FOR SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT WEBSITE

The Social Service Department has unveiled a new website boasting easier navigation, an easier to remember web-address and a warmer, more welcoming look. The new address is: www.mghsocialwork.org. But the page can also still be found from links from www.massgeneral.org under "Visitor & Patient Online Guide" or "Departments and Programs". The site has been reorganized to improve the visitor's experience. Instead of the 8 buttons at the bottom of the page, now there are 4 tabs at the top - About Us, Resources, Contact Us and Staff Access. It should be pretty self-explanatory, but for those of you familiar with the old look, here are the locations of some frequently used items: the department's Support Group List, Affordable Accommodations list and links to other MGH resources such as Chaplaincy, parking and directions to MGH are all under the "Resources" tab. The Staff Access tab remains the password-protected area of the site for Social Service staff. The password remains the same as your IRis password (contact Joscelyn or Ellen with questions). Here you'll find the Community Resource Center Resources, September 11 Resources, Departmental Forms and Departmental Policies.

The Community Resource Center (CRC) area of the site has also undergone a major reorganization to make it easier for staff to quickly find what you need. As before, go to: Staff Access, Community Resource Center. Previously this area was organized by type of medium - a index of MGH Community News newsletters, a list of all CRC holdings, and miscellaneous lists and references. Now this area is organized by topics including all pertinent newsletter articles, CRC Holdings, lists, and websites. The main subject areas are: Basic Needs, Services for Specific Populations, Health and Illness, Legal Resources, MGH Resources and Information, and General Reference. Most are then divided into smaller sub-categories. Basic Needs, for example, includes: Employment/Unemployment, Health Care Coverage, Housing and Housing with Services, Nutrition, Public Benefits/Cash Assistance, Transportation, and Utilities. Health and Illness includes topics such as Complementary Therapy, Death and Dying, Disability, Home Health Care and Mental Health.

The MGH Community News newsletters, in addition to appearing as links under specific topics, are still available here by date and indexed by subject, and there is still a link to IRis for the Web.

We encourage you to explore and familiarize yourself with the wealth of information on the site. You'll be glad you did!

Joscelyn or Ellen will provide private or small group tutorials on the CRC area of the site by request.

Thanks to the web committee and to Joscelyn for all her hard work on the CRC site.

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