Corrine Volpe selected out of VITAS social workers for outstanding service award
By: Julianna M. Pietak
Barry University alumna Corrine Volpe was recently recognized at the national level for her work with VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Lake Worth, Fla.
Volpe received the Founder’s Award for Outstanding Service as a Social Worker from the organization at its National Employee Recognition Awards. She was selected out of the more than 300 social workers currently employed in the 44 programs VITAS runs nationwide. VITAS is currently the largest Hospice provider in the U.S.
“Corinne is the type of social worker who makes a real difference in the lives of our patients and their families,” said Denise DiGiovanni-Segal, VITAS veterans program manager.
Before beginning her social work career, Volpe worked as executive manager of food production for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. After moving to Florida to care for her terminally ill father, she earned her Master of Social Work degree from Barry in 2006. While at Barry, she joined VITAS of Palm Beach County in 2005, as the program’s first social work student intern.
“When I arrived at Barry, I was immediately embraced by a supportive administrative staff and faculty who nurtured my potential,” Volpe said. “Since this was a new career path for me, it took some time to process, digest and then put these theoretical concepts into practice.”
Since then, she has utilized her social work experience at Barry to address the individual needs of each of her clients and their families in the Hospice setting. Volpe relates her success to the range of factors and resources she was exposed to during her Barry education.
“Barry continually stressed the importance of examining the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, interpersonal, cultural, socio-economic and environmental domain of each client and family system we would encounter as social workers,” Volpe said. “My training has had a profound impact on how I relate to my patients and their families in the work I do each day out in the field.”
