In the spring of 2020, as the world grappled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam Dewey was still new at the Utah Lions Eye Bank donor communications center. In her role at the eye bank, Dewey assessed Utah death reports and coordinated eye tissue recovery for transplants.
“Through the medical examiner’s office, we see all of the people who have passed away and their cause of death to evaluate whether someone’s tissue is eligible for transplant,” Dewey said. “I could not believe how much suicides went up during the pandemic here in Utah. It made me really sad and I saw the big mental health need that COVID-19 spurred on.”
This observation catalyzed Dewey to explore a career in mental health treatment and set her on a nonlinear path marked by resilience, serendipity, and an unwavering commitment to making a positive difference.
In 2016, Dewey completed the prerequisites to pursue a career as a registered nurse at the University of Utah.
“Then, right before applying for the program, I realized it wasn’t quite the right fit for me,” she said.
She shifted direction, designing a bachelor’s degree in medical illustration through the U’s Bachelor of University Studies program. After graduating in 2018, while continuing her work at the eye bank and weighing her next steps, Dewey found her career plans further clouded by the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“My plan was to kick that career off after graduation. But then I had a back surgery and the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” she said. “My therapist recommended that I do some personality quizzes to get an idea of career pathways that were a good fit for me, and social work kept popping up.”
Dewey applied for the Master’s of Social Work (MSW) program at the University of Utah College of Social Work in 2020 and was not admitted. The following year, she applied again and was accepted into the program.
“It actually ended up being better for me, as I had time to volunteer and learn more about the social work field before I jumped in,” she said. Dewey graduated from the program in May of 2024.
Last fall, Dewey accepted a role as an inpatient social worker at Intermountain Medical Center. “I applied for a social work role at Intermountain not knowing what floors were available. When I learned that the transplant floor was available, I sprang at the opportunity,” she said.
On the kidney and liver transplant floor, care teams support patients before, during, and after a transplant. Dewey works with patients who have been approved for a transplant and admitted to the hospital ahead of their surgery.
The leaves of the “Living Donor Tree” feature the names of living donors and their encouraging words to their transplant recipients. A living donor is a person who donates an organ or part of an organ to someone in need of a transplant while they are still alive, most commonly a kidney or part of a liver.
“Transplant patients have unique needs. My role is primarily assessing them for things they may need support with, checking in on their mental health, emotional states, any discharge needs, if they need rehab or home health services, housing, etc.,” she said.
Dewey explained that there are a lot of resources available to transplant patients due to the arduous nature of recovery. Transplant patients are required to be located within an hour’s radius of the hospital and have a 24/7 caregiver for four to six weeks following the transplant surgery.
“I recommend therapy to everyone who has had a transplant, as it’s a lot to cope with, a lot of stress, and it can be straining on relationships. Most of our transplant patients rely on family members to take off work and be with them 24/7, which is a big burden. There are also support groups available to patients and their caregivers,” she said.
Because many patients travel from Southern Utah or from out of state for care, the transplant team offers additional support for those facing financial hardship, particularly around housing.
“We support them the best we can with the requirements,” Dewey said. “If approved, patients can stay in one of our four apartments right across from the hospital. If those are full, patients may also be housed in a local hotel at a reduced cost. It helps reduce the financial stress they face.”
The team also addresses more complex needs when they arise. “If someone needs a liver transplant due to alcoholism and we are concerned about relapse, which we’ve seen in a few cases, we refer them to Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness or online support groups,” she said.
More commonly, Dewey encounters patients who express feelings of guilt.
“For them to live, someone else had to die,” she said.
Part of her role includes educating patients about Donor Connect, a confidential service that mediates the relationship between the transplant recipient and the organ/tissue donor’s family.
“Our patients can write a letter to their donor’s family. Nearly every patient expresses interest in that,” Dewey said.
Many patients have been waiting for years for a transplant and have been living a “drastically limited” life due to their health conditions.
“Some patients are stuck doing dialysis daily and have limited energy,” said Dewey. “I have a lot of patients who are unable to do the things they wish to do, like play with their kids or exercise. It makes it really challenging to enjoy life and be the person they want to be.”
For Dewey, the interaction with patients is the most rewarding part of her job.
“My patients are so appreciative and excited for the opportunity to have a transplant and get back to activities that they used to be able to do. There’s a lot of hope on this floor, which has been a nice change from the eye bank. To see the other side of the tragedy—seeing the hope that my patients get from a second chance in life—is huge,” Dewey said.
Today, in addition to her position on Intermountain Medical Center’s transplant floor, Dewey is still working part-time at the call center at the eye bank.
“The field of organ donation and transplants definitely fell into place unexpectedly,” she reflected. “I was applying for jobs at the U because I wanted to go to school there and found the role at the eye bank. I only planned to be there for a year, and now I’ve been there for seven. It’s a very unique job and I ended up loving this field.”
As she continues to grow as a social worker, Dewey remains grounded in the skills she learned in the MSW Program through her mentors.
“Brad Lundahl was an amazing professor, and I feel that my techniques talking to patients all stem back to his classes, especially motivational interviewing. Allison O’Connor taught my stages of life course, which I found helpful in this role as I see people of all ages as transplant patients,” she said. “I check in with my biases and countertransference daily to make sure I’m not judging these patients for the circumstances that they are in. The program did a good job of teaching us to check in with ourselves when talking to people.”
To those considering a career as a social worker, Dewey’s advice stems from her experience during the pandemic when she struggled to see a clear career path ahead of her.
“Be open and receptive to what’s out there. Don’t limit yourself by only looking at one avenue. There are so many opportunities out there to learn,” she said.
Dewey’s experience underscores the range of opportunities available within social work and the value of staying open to nontraditional paths. What began as a part-time job to support her education has turned into a long-term professional focus. As she continues to support patients through some of life’s most challenging transitions, Dewey exemplifies the core tenets of social work—meeting people where they are, with compassion, curiosity, and care.
Resources:
The Mayo Clinic: Organ donation: Don’t let these myths confuse you
Click Here to Register to be an Organ, Eye and Tissue Donor in the state of Utah