Cristen Porcaro

Cristen Porcaro | Legislator Anthony Piccirillo's Honoree

Cristen Porcaro has been a resident of Holbrook all her life, and is an alumnus of Sachem North, from which she graduated in 2005. She graduated with her MSW from Stony Brook School of Social Welfare in 2015. She is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. 

Cristen Porcaro has been working as a hospital/medical social worker and substance use counselor since 2015.She has been working at Stony Brook hospital since 2016 as a Medical Social Worker. She currently has the role of Lead Social Worker for Integrated Health. Recently Cristen was named employee of the month at Stony Brook University Hospital and Social Worker of the Year!

As Lead Social Worker for Integrated Health, Cristen works with a lot of complex cases and patients with multiple comorbidities. She fills the void between the medical and psychiatric teams and breaks barriers to help with optimal discharge planning. Patients need to be connected with services in the community in order to have the best outcomes and limit readmission, and she is their connection. Not only does Cristen work with patients, but she also works with the community and state agencies to help facilitate discharge planning and resources. Cristen also provides education to staff in regard to working with this particular population, which is something she really enjoys doing. The work can be challenging at times, but Cristen likes a good challenge as it can also be rewarding.

When she is not working at Stony Brook Hospital, Cristen works as a substance use counselor at Community Counseling Services of Ronkonkoma, a NYS OASAS (Office of Addiction Services and Supports) licensed agency. With the ongoing opioid/fentanyl crisis that is affecting our community, Cristen finds herself extremely passionate about working with the substance use disorder population. She enjoys working directly with the clients, helping them achieve their goals and optimize their health. Again, this is challenging work however, it is extremely rewarding.

Social workers help empower and assist patients to live to their fullest potential, and Cristen believes it’s so important to shed a light on all social workers. Cristen is honored to be a social worker and represent her coworkers and colleagues in the field.

Cristen enjoys helping those in need in her community and plans to continue to serve her community in the best ways possible.