Genesis Community Health recently welcomed Keisha Henry of Royal Palm Beach as its new director of social services. A licensed clinical social worker, Henry will be responsible for the administration and clinical supervision of Genesis’s Social Services Department.
The addition of Henry will enable Genesis to implement the behavioral health component of its services and offer adult and pediatric patients comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care.
“We have been steadily expanding and adding to our capabilities to meet the criteria of our Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant funding,” CEO DeAnna Warren said. “Our medical offices were expanded in Boynton Beach in 2015 and into Boca Raton in 2016. We successfully established a new dental office in Boca Raton. Now, we are able to incorporate mental health services into our offerings with a new director. All of this translates into more efficient, more well-designed delivery of care for our patients.”
Henry has practice experience in hospitals and healthcare social work settings and public/government sectors with a focus on community-based mental health, intervention, illness management and recovery.
“Patients may be in need of care to address depression, anxiety or substance abuse, or they might need help with illness management and recovery, if they are being treated for a chronic condition or injury,” Henry said.
Henry was drawn to social work after being advised by two different mentors — the chair of the Social Work Department at St. Leo University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration, and a nun at Catholic Charities, where she worked as a professional guardian before earning her master’s degree in social work at Barry University. Although initially driven to become an attorney, Henry changed paths after one year in law school.
“As a professional guardian, I had to go into homes and decide whether an elderly adult had to be removed. It was difficult work, and the conditions were sometimes inhabitable. It was then that I discovered a passion for social work and decided to become licensed and pursue it as a career,” she said. “Now, I think it is part of my responsibilities to show people what being a licensed clinical social worker really means. There are so many misconceptions about a licensed social work clinician.”
Prior to joining Genesis, Henry worked as a youth services coordinator for the Palm Beach County Youth Services Department and as a casework supervisor and case manager for the Palm Beach County Human Services Department. Her career also included working as an inpatient counselor at Palms West Hospital.
