You most likely have heard the term “social worker” – but can you define exactly what a social worker does? According to the National Association of Social Workers, “the primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet basic and complex needs of all people, with a particular focus on those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.” Social workers help individuals and families to navigate challenges and improve their quality of life, and are embedded across many of our society’s institutions -- schools, government agencies, churches, correctional facilities, and of course, hospitals.

March is Social Work Month, and to that end, we’re getting to know some of the dedicated cardiology social workers who work with patients and families at the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center.

Dabney Topp, LCSW

“Social workers, like nurses, are a big part of the backbone of patient care,” said Pauley social worker Dabney Topp, LCSW. “Many don’t realize just how much we contribute, but we always do our best to make a real difference every day."

Topp is a clinical social worker who serves patients in Pauley’s cardiac intensive care (CICU) and cardiac surgery intensive care units (CSICU). As a part of a patient’s care coordination team, Topp’s role is to connect patients with the resources they need both when in the hospital and as they transition back into their community after a hospital stay.

“A lot of what I do is groundwork,” Topp says. “We assess a patient’s needs early on–what challenges they faced before arriving and how we can address them while they’re here. Many times, people will arrive from another hospital where their needs weren’t met, so I’m also here to figure out why that is and how to address it."

Beyond resource acquisition, Topp says one of the most fulfilling aspects of her job is supporting and advocating for families.

"I advocate for patients to the medical team, help facilitate conversations, and stand by them through tough moments, like critical medical decisions or emergencies," she said.

Topp entered the world of healthcare with a psychology degree, then shortly after received a  master’s degree in social work. Before joining the Pauley Heart Center, she spent a decade providing outpatient therapy. Her experience in psychotherapy equipped her with the skills needed to help others navigate the complexities of ICU care.

"People often have a narrow view of what social workers do," Topp says. "But we’re everywhere, and we play a vital role in advocacy, support, and connecting individuals with essential resources. We help people take care of their mental health, understand healthcare systems, and access financial or medical assistance."

Because her caseload can have 25 or more ICU patients at any given time, Topp works closely with a nurse care coordinator to ensure comprehensive care. While some patients directly request social work services, others rely on referrals from the medical team. "Part of my job is making sure the team knows what I do, so they can call on me when a patient needs support," she said.

Beyond the hospital, Topp is an avid tennis player, competing in leagues with the United States Tennis Association, and has a deep passion for gardening and mindfulness practices. She also has a hidden talent—classical opera singing, in which she trained for years.

On the whole, Topp is an uplifting presence – an ideal quality in a CICU/CSICU social worker, who often meets people where they are after the biggest medical crisis of their lives. credits her loved ones and her passion for life itself. "My family, my kids, my friends—they inspire me to be the best version of myself,” she said. “And I just love life. There’s so much beauty and magic in it. I have this hunger to live it fully."

Cameron White, MSW

Cameron White, MSW, is also a social worker on Pauley’s CSICU. White specializes in patient discharge planning, but her job involves much more than that on a daily basis.

“There’s a supportive counseling aspect, there's connecting people to resources, and there’s just being that familiar face for patients when they're here and giving them a calm sense of support,” White said.

White earned her bachelor’s in social work from Eastern Mennonite University and her master’s in social work from the University of New England in Maine, and she is currently working toward her licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) credential, which is required for social workers who work with clients in a clinical setting. This May, she plans to return to the University of New England to pursue a doctorate in social work.

White says that despite the fact that she is an introvert, she has always wanted to help others. “Initially I wanted to do nursing, but I learned that I don't do blood or anything like that,” she said. “I did a cadaver lab and said, ‘Yeah, no, this is not for me.’ But I knew I still wanted to help people, so I just had to figure out how.” After first working in foster care, she returned to healthcare by way of oncology, then discovered inpatient social work while pursuing her master’s degree.

“That is where I really found my footing,” she said. “Inpatient social work is completely different from community social work, and I’m definitely happy in the medical field!”

White’s favorite part of her job is the connection she feels with the patients as she helps them get their proper care. “Meeting different people and hearing their stories really make it worth it, even on hard days,” she said.

Outside of work, Cameron spends time with her wife and toy poodle. One of her favorite things to do is going out and exploring all that Richmond has to offer. “My wife is into gelato, so she wants to try almost every gelato place that we can find,” she said. “The best we’ve found so far is Gelati Celesti.”

Megan Maltby, LCSW

Megan Maltby, LCSW, has been with VCU Health and Pauley Heart Center for 25 years. Today, she works with Pauley’s advanced heart failure, LVAD, and heart transplant patients. She works with patients across the continuum of care, with a particular focus on those that are being evaluated for heart transplant, lung transplant, and LVAD candidacy. She also sees patients in Pauley’s heart failure navigator program, some of whom ultimately undergo heart transplant.

“I do a bunch of stuff!” Megan said. “I come in one day thinking I'm going to solve one problem, then it turns out I have to solve 20 different ones at the same time.”

Maltby obtained her master’s in social work at VCU in 2000, and during her master’s program her field placement was oncology. At the time, she was interested in continuing to work with cancer patients, but there were no positions open in that field at VCU. Of the positions that were open -- burn unit or heart, kidney, and lung transplant – she chose transplant.

“I gave heart transplant a try, thinking once [a position in] oncology opens up, I’ll move,” Maltby said. “But I fell in love with heart transplant because I had an amazing mentor: Maureen Flattery, Pauley’s longtime heart transplant coordinator, who recently retired. “She took me under her wing and taught me everything I needed to know about transplant. I just absolutely fell in love with it.”

Maltby is part of a group of practitioners -- surgeons, doctors, coordinators, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians, and palliative care workers – who make the tough decisions around the assignment of donated organs to patients. In the United States, there are 103,223 people on the national transplant waiting list. Of these, nearly 3,500 are waiting for a heart and nearly 90,000 are waiting for a liver.

Megan sees patients who have faced many challenges in their life, and roots for those who may not at first glance seem like optimal recipients. “Some patients we know are going to do well,” she said. “We have to work hard with patients that we know have modifiable psychosocial reasons to not be eligible just yet. Sometimes a lot of patience is needed, and that is ok.”

Maltby cherishes the community she’s found within heart transplant and cardiology. Her friendships with her team, she said, have been lifelong. But the reason Maltby in her role at VCU Health for 25 years, through good times and bad, is simple. “I love seeing individuals get a second chance at life,” she said, “seeing them become a grandparent, become a spouse, or see their kids graduate when, before, there wasn’t going to be that opportunity.”

When we asked Maltby what her “walk-up song” is, she chose “Manic Monday” by the Bangles. “Around here, every day’s a Manic Monday,” she said. When she’s not at work, Maltby travels and spends time with her family and friends. She’s also an All-American hockey player – something she says often surprises others to learn.

Taylor Goodwyn, LCSW

Taylor Goodwyn, LCSW, has been at VCU since 2020, and started her current role at Pauley in September 2024, when she stepped into a role previously filled by just one person: Megan Maltby. Goodwyn teamed up with Maltby to work with patients being evaluated for heart transplant, lung transplant, and LVAD candidacy, switching between inpatient and outpatient care and making sure these patients have access to necessary resources and support.

Like Maltby, Goodwyn also earned her master’s in social work from VCU in 2016, and like White, she first worked in foster care, then in behavioral management for local school systems. During the COVID pandemic, when schools started to close, she transitioned to working with orthopedics patients at VCU Health, and ultimately transitioned to her role at Pauley working side by side with Maltby, who has turned into a mentor for Goodwyn.

Goodwyn emphasizes that social workers don’t always have all the information they need at their fingertips.

“There's a misconception that social workers know a lot more than anyone else about all the ins and outs of health insurance or how to navigate every social program that's available in the state of Virginia,” she said. “But we don't necessarily have an encyclopedia of knowledge that everyone else is missing. I think that social workers are good at researching information and critically thinking about how to solve problems. Through this research and [critical] thought is how we get people the resources they need.”

Goodwyn is motivated by seeing patients’ lives change for the better. “My favorite part of this role is seeing somebody that you evaluated go through their entire hospital process, eventually getting a new donor heart, and then seeing them for the first time in the clinic after they've gotten their transplant,” she said. “They are like a new person. They've recovered or started their recovery process, but you can already see how happy they are that this new life has started for them.”