IEHP Honors Plan’s First Social Worker

Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is celebrating National Social Work Month by honoring their very first social worker Dennis Kaney, who served residents of the Inland Empire for 16 years before his passing earlier this month.

In speaking with Kaney earlier this year to learn more about his experience as an IEHP Team Member, he described his role as "doing what he loved most”—providing individualized, quality care and support to the region’s most vulnerable Members through his work as an IEHP Case Manager. 

In January, Kaney met an IEHP Member who had sustained life-threatening injuries in a car accident, leaving the Member with paralysis in their limbs (known as a quadriplegia).  

Kaney, who was wheelchair-bound himself, understood the need for multi-level support and wasted no time connecting the Member to resources to aid in the massive life transition. “I believe through my work at IEHP, I am able to do exactly what I am meant to do and use my personal experiences to help someone navigate their new beginning,” Kaney said.

Through this connection, Kaney helped the Member discover new ways to manage daily life, including how to travel with a chair, how to write, talk, and how to best utilize available resources and tools.

This ultimately provided the Member with hope and a reminder that their life was in no way over.

“A heartfelt connection provides more care to the human spirit than we realize,” said Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP’s Chief Executive Officer. “As we honor Dennis and observe Social Work Month, we celebrate the spirit of all social workers who bring courage and empathy to a world that desperately needs their light and love.”