Jim Dailey is one of the newest Hannan service coordinators, starting late March as a full time service coordinator. He is currently at the Bishop Co-Op in Wyandotte, Michigan, as a limited licensed social worker. Jim also has a specialist in aging certificate, and he is working toward his hours for his LMSW. Jim is extremely happy to be at this Co-op and believes service coordinator is a great job for an entry level social worker because it exposes you to so many resources in the community. This job allows him to interact with seniors and learn about the resources afforded to them. Jim has not always worked with older adults; he started his career in communications.
Jim attended Indiana University graduating with a Bachelors in telecommunications. After graduation, he worked in advertising for four years, but decided to leave the business because it was too unstable. Jim was unsure of what to do next, so he took a couple of months to re-evaluate his career path. During this time he read the book, What Color is Your Parachute? This book helped him realize he wanted to work in a helping profession. He then started working with persons with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Jim worked for WillowBrook Rehabilitation in Brighton, Michigan in a recreational therapy role.
While working at WillowBrook, Jim continued to hear about the growing importance of the senior care field. Since Jim always enjoyed spending time with his grandparents and their older adult friends, he started considering a career in geriatrics. In order to test the waters, Jim took a second job working for Glacier Hills Senior Living in Ann Arbor. Jim stayed with the two jobs for two years, and then decided to go back to school to become a licensed geriatric social worker. Jim attained his MSW at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, where he was a geriatric scholar.
When Jim is not working at Bishop, he enjoys watching/playing sports, exercising, and watching TV and movies with his wife, as his preferred self care activities. Jim is a passionate fan of University of Michigan football, Indiana University basketball and all of the Detroit pro sports teams. Jim’s favorite movie is Old School and his favorite book is The Catcher in the Rye.
Prior to interviewing for the service coordinator position, Jim was unaware that there was an entire National Association of Service Coordinators working to help seniors and families. So service coordination is not the first job Jim would have chosen as geriatric social worker, but he is glad he did. He was lead to this job by two of his favorite professors at the University of Michigan School of Social Work: Beth Spencer and Ruth Dunkle. They both suggested service coordination as a great entry level job and Jim is happy he listened to their suggestion. The environment is a great fit for Jim and will help him to reach his first career goal of becoming a LMSW.
