Joanna Smith, LCSW, MPH, CHA
Titles and Affiliations:
- Social Worker, Independent Practice
Joanna Smith, LCSW is a social worker in independent practice. She specializes in consultations and advocacy for people concerned with end of life planning including Palliative Care, Hospice and Medical-Aid-in-Dying.
She has 35 years of professional experience in the fields of medicine and mental health. She has worked as a licensed medical social worker and hospital discharge planner in health care systems throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Previous experience also included work in home health and community-based agencies. She was on the advisory panel for development of the Certificate Program in Health Advocacy at the University of California, Berkeley Extension.
Joanna has provided consultation services to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel on Issues in Brachytherapy Treatment of Prostate Cancer Patients and has served on the Healthcare Advisory Board for MWV Healthcare and is past President of the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy.
Joanna received her master’s in Social Work from Tulane University in 1978 and her master’s in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1985. She is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California and a certified health care advocate. She founded the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy in 2009. Her other professional memberships include the National Association of Social Workers, the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
