Strong Area Health Center welcomes new social worker

STRONG – This summer, Strong Area Health Center will be welcoming clinical social worker Katherine Kemp to the provider team.

Kemp will be offering behavioral health services to health and dental center patients by focusing on the total person and assisting patients at difficult crossroads throughout the lifecycle. This includes patients who would benefit from working with a trained professional in handling a new diagnosis, managing a prolonged condition, and dealing with other factors that impact overall wellness.

Kemp brings experience in outpatient mental health and case management as well as teaching in the undergraduate setting. In 2009, she obtained her Master of Social Work degree from the University of New England in Portland. In 2005, she completed a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Services degree at University of Maine at Farmington. Her areas of expertise include working with individuals and families on prevention, developmental and trauma issues.

“I am so excited to be joining the remarkable, professional team at the Strong Area Health Center,” Kemp said. “For the past five years I have been working towards my PhD in Disabilities Studies. My course work has been in the social and behavioral sciences as well as in substance abuse and nursing. I think this focus demonstrates that I truly believe in the interdisciplinary, patient-centered team-based approach to primary care. I have confidence that this model of shared goals in care within and across disciplines is the best way to achieve coordinated, high-quality care for patients and their families. It is my hope that joining this team will give me the opportunity to share what I have learned over the years in both practice and scholarship with providers and patients and to learn from them both as well.”

Kemp will be joining Ann Schwink, physician, Madelyn Besse, physician assistant, Kelcy Wiley, family nurse practitioner, and Randall Beal, psychiatric nurse practitioner, who provide medical care to patients of all ages. The health center offers primary care and oral health services to 2,000 residents of Avon, New Vineyard, Phillips, Strong, Farmington and beyond.