Laura Jones, LCSW, began her career wanting to go to law school and working in legal advocacy with the Center for Women and Families, a local non-profit that provides resources and housing for those impacted by domestic violence. She quickly fell in love with advising families and psychotherapy and realized a career in social work is her passion. After doing a complete 180 from her law school plans, Laura became a certified social worker and pursued a master’s degree in social work.
Today, Laura works as the manager of the Oncology Restorative Health and Wellness Program at the UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center and has been with our organization for almost seven years.
In her role, she manages all patient services for the Brown Cancer Center, which includes the resource center and contract therapists. In 2021, she assisted in adding a food pantry to all resource centers that are also home to massage, music and art therapy services.
Laura likes to say social workers wear many hats. Her day may include crisis intervention facilitating, diagnosing and treating mental health disorders, or connecting a new patient to therapy services.
With the help of Megan Nelson, M.D., Laura helps organize fundraising events for oncology patients, survivors and families, like Capturing the Moment, that benefit holistic wellness programs like SOAR On. Together they plan annual fundraising events and look for opportunities to connect our system to programs like the Kroger Rewards Program.
Laura believes UofL Health provides her the opportunity to keep learning as each day is different in an academic healthcare system. She enjoys being able to work with oncology patients to connect them to resources and screenings that are constantly changing and developing to better serve them.
It is a priority of Laura’s to continue treating the underserved populations in our city and state and educate the community about what resources and treatments are available.
“We have so many amazing researchers and incredible providers. We offer a unique treatment model and clinical trial access to our patients,” said Laura.
UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center Social Work Department
As a social worker, Laura is proud to uphold UofL Health’s mission statement with each patient interaction.
“Social workers are trained to provide patient-centered care in every interaction they have,” said Laura. “Meeting patients where they bare is part of the ethos of the profession.”
As a Louisville native, Laura attended the University of Louisville for her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She has since continued her education at the University of Michigan to earn a certification in sex therapy.
Something you may not know about Laura is she and her husband are vegetarian. Their favorite place to eat is their local Mexican restaurant, where they dine about once a week.
Laura’s husband is a speech-language pathologist at UofL Health – UofL Hospital. She admires how he can pick up languages so quickly and dreams of doing that too. If she could, she would try learning every language possible!
If you see Laura around, be sure to say “hello” and ask what book she’s reading. She’d love to tell you about Reese Witherspoon’s book club and get to know you!