Oncology social worker supports her patients through MultiCare Gives

By Kortney Scroger

Betsy Allen, an oncology social worker at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, cares deeply about her patients and she’s passionate about supporting them throughout their treatment journey. Betsy likes being an advocate for patients who are underprivileged and individuals who have fallen on hard times. 

“I work to remove barriers. Anything that is a barrier to patients getting quality care such as finances or transportation — I help remove that barrier,” Betsy explains. 

“We had this patient who was experiencing homelessness. He worked, but he couldn’t get housing for a few reasons. He had stage 4 cancer and we were able to finance temporary housing for him while he received chemo. If we didn’t have those resources for him, he would have never received treatment.”

Betsy has herself, and generous people like her to thank for those resources. Betsy supports her patients through MultiCare Gives, an employee giving program that directly supports MultiCare patients and families. She donates a portion of every paycheck to the Helping Hands Fund, specifically benefiting the Oncology Department.

“Helping Hands helps families so they don’t have to decide between food and medication. I give because I see the difference it can make in our patients’ anxiety levels, attitude towards treatment and ability to access the best possible care.”

Thanks to donor contributions, more than 6,000 patients received assistance from the Helping Hands Fund in 2017. You can help, too. 

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