"Safe passage": social work roles and functions in hospice care

What are social work's unique roles and functions in behalf of patients and their families in hospice care? The question is answered in the first phase of a Joint Research Project of social work faculty, hospice social workers and graduate social work students. The special roles, illustrative functions and potential outcomes of social work in hospice are identified. Case examples are utilized to illustrate social work's response to patients, families, staff and the service network. The authors hypothesize that social workers in hospice and other health care settings are instrumental in charting and facilitating within a nurturing environment a "safe passage" for the person-in-transition.