Bianca Sabatini is pictured leaning on the care desk at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the KGH site. She has blue eyes and medium brown, wavy hair that goes down past her shoulders. She’s wearing a black top with a burgundy blazer on top.
Bianca Sabatini joined #myKHSC eight months ago. She says she’s proud to be a social worker and adds the work, more often than not, is humbling.
Credit
Matthew Manor/KHSC

Growing up Bianca Sabatini never dreamed of becoming a social worker, but now she can’t imagine doing anything else.

She’s part of a multifaceted team at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), made up of more than 60 social workers, who strive to enhance the health and well-being of patients, families and communities.

“Social workers are great solvers of problems. Facilitating the most complex of discharges,” says Sabatini.

“They are knowledge holders, able to recall any and all hospital and community resources in the greater Kingston area. They are load bearers, able to carry the emotional weight of the sudden death of someone’s beloved.”

Sabatini works mainly with the critical care Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Emergency Department (ED).

“My pager chirps and I call down to the ED. ‘Hi, it's Bianca from Social Work.’ The relief is palpable. ‘Oh good! We have a situation.’ I reply ‘I'm on it.’ And for a brief moment I think, am I Batman? This is what I enjoy the most about being a social worker.”

She may not be the Caped Crusader, but Sabatini is supporting patients, loved ones and care teams whenever she gets the signal.

“We have amazing staff who are dedicated and will advocate fiercely for the well-being of their patients. I believe social workers lessen the load on our already overworked health-care teams.

“Social workers provide care everyone is capable of doing, though we have the luxury of not being bombarded with the demands of also keeping the patient alive and well.

“It is a privilege to support patients and their families through what may be the most devastating day of their lives. I am proud to be a social worker. However, the work at KHSC is, more often than not, humbling.

“I am too quick to forget in the monotony, that these overcrowded rooms and hallways form a sacred space. Where love is freely expressed and loss is unashamedly grieved. I am humbled to be part of their experience.”

This Social Work Week please join us as we shine a spotlight on Sabatini and all KHSC social workers, and help applaud them for the essential care they provide each and every day.

Gallery