Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health Director Named

BU Today



Interim director Sally Bachman appointed to permanent post
Social workers can help doctors deliver better care, says Sally Bachman, director of a BU center combining both disciplines. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi
Sara “Sally” Bachman has been named the first director of a cutting-edge BU center applying the insights of social work to national and global health care.
Bachman, who had been serving as interim director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) since its 2015 launch, is a School of Public Health research professor of social research and of health law, policy, and management. As the CISWH’s first director, she also becomes the first Paul Farmer Professor at the School of Social Work, which oversees the CISWH. The center fosters collaboration between the two schools, as well as among other BU faculty.
“I could not be more excited and humbled by this amazing opportunity,” Bachman says of her two-year term as director, which is renewable.
“I will work with a talented group of colleagues to build the evidence base related to the value of social work practice in health and public health settings, from a cost and outcome perspective,” she says. The dual role of CISWH director and the new Paul Farmer Professorship “represents an ideal personal and professional challenge that will allow me to both leverage my skills and knowledge and continue to grow as a social work–public health leader.”
The CISWH’s mission is to use social work to reduce health care costs and improve care, particularly for underserved populations. The center’s premise is that in order to provide preventive health care, doctors and other caregivers need to know family and neighborhood influences that can impair health, especially for medically underserved populations. Social workers know that kind of information, which might help address domestic health problems such as the less-than-impressive US longevity rates ...

Read More