Cody Frasure, chief of Social Work Service at the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Mountain Home, was honored March 26 as the 2008 Social Worker of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers during the Social Work Legislative Conference in Nashville.
The annual award recognizes social workers who display exceptional leadership qualities, a willingness to take risks for improved social services, and the ability to effectively contribute to the public’s understanding of social work.
Frasure, a Community Advisory Committee member and field internship instructor for the Department of Social Work in East Tennessee State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, was nominated by Dr. Robin Lennon-Dearing, ETSU assistant professor of Social Work.
Under Frasure’s leadership, Social Work Service at the Quillen VAMC has implemented new programs for veterans, including mental health intensive case management, home-based primary care, suicide prevention and domiciliary after-care. To accomplish these initiatives, the social work staff has increased from 24 to 52, and Frasure encourages the personal and professional development of all his employees.
In addition to his regular duties, Frasure has assisted at the Vet Center and with outreach efforts to veterans returning from Iraq, and has served in temporary assignments elsewhere in the VA system, filling in while searches for permanent employees were being conducted.
Frasure holds a master of social work degree from the University of Oklahoma and served at the West Texas VAMC before accepting his current position.

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