Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital is one of many health care institutions owned by the Sisters Of Mercy and is apart of the Catholic Health East system, “a multi-institutional Catholic health system committed to continuing the healing ministry of the Catholic Church” (Catholic Health East [CHE], 2014, p. 1). Mercy Fitzgerald's mission and core values of reverence, commitment to poor, justice, stewardship and integrity are deeply rooted and influenced by Scripture and the Roman Catholic Church whose teachings go back centuries. Some of the work that today falls under the umbrella of social work were carried out for centuries by nuns and priests who saw it as their spiritual duty. Before social work was instituted as a profession, charitable workers…show more content… Modern social workers are expected to adhere to the professional code of ethics set forth by the National Association of Social Workers ( [NASW], 2008), which includes six core values of social work. These values are: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationship, integrity and competence. Although the core values of both modern social work practice and Mercy Fitzgerald seem to share a common focus - that of serving the poor, disadvantaged, and the needy - they differ and sometimes conflict because of Mercy Fitzgerald's primarily religious motivation and interest whereas social work is motivated by and based on the needs of the individual, family and…show more content… The first core value specified in the NASW code of Ethics (2008) is service. This ethical principle states that a “social worker's primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems”. This means that a social worker's commitment should be to the individual and not self nor to any organization. Social workers must use their knowledge and skills to provide service(s) that address the needs of the individuals and community. Similarly, one of Mercy Fitzgerald's core values is being committed to providing accessible services to the poor and impoverish communities wherein they operate. One way in which Mercy demonstrates this commitment is by providing low cost or free health care to individuals and also by providing “community outreach programs” (2014) such as health screenings, smoking cessation support and providing general health education. Both of these values of social work practice and Mercy Fitzgerald seem aligned with each other since they are both committed to meeting the needs of the needy. Social justice is a key social work value that requires workers to challenge injustices by advocating on behalf of the client system for improved access to needed service and resources. In a similar fashion Mercy