2015 Health Care Champions Social Worker/Case Manager: Sheila Dullum

For 38 years, Sheila Dullum’s hand has helped shape the well-being of children and families in Springfield.

From her first professional position as activities director for the Girl’s Club of Springfield upon earning a bachelor’s in social work from Missouri State University in 1977, she is spurred by a personal motivation to see children and families thrive in their home environment.

“I see my role in the overall picture of health care in the Ozarks as a person who is part of a team helping children and their families as they journey through the medical care setting,” she says.

Over the last 36 years, Dullum served in a variety of capacities as a social worker for the Doctor’s Hospital, now Ozarks Community Hospital, and the Springfield Regional Center, working with underprivileged, at-risk and developmentally disabled individuals in the local community.

Since earning her master’s in social work from the University of Missouri in 1985, Dullum has worked as a medical social worker for Mercy Care Management. Her many duties include assisting and assessing the needs of patients and families through Mercy’s maternal-child health services and its St. Jude Affiliate Clinic, as well as providing support counseling and crisis intervention.

For Dullum, her primary duties are two-fold: providing guidance to obtain a safe home environment in the acute care setting, and helping outpatients navigate the medical care system.

“My focus has usually been to address one patient and family at a time, to get to know their goals and to assist them in obtaining community support to reach those goals,” Dullum says. “This takes a team to accomplish as many times the patients I serve and their families have multiple issues they are facing as they enter clinical care.”

Dr. Melinda Slack, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit, says Dullum’s strong work ethic, sense of responsibility and compassion make her both a conscientious social worker and an invaluable member of the NICU staff.

“She is very focused on our patients and in seeing that the babies have the resources possible in transitioning to the home, which is so important in the neonatal realm,” Slack says. “She is truly an advocate for the babies at this most critical time in their new lives.”

In 1998, the state of Missouri recognized Dullum for that advocacy, naming her Outstanding Social Worker of the Year in the private sector. Between 1999 and 2008, Dullum was a gubernatorial appointee to the Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board. She also previously served on the regional board of the First Steps program and the Partners for a Better Tomorrow Inter-agency Coalition providing services for at-risk families in order to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Dullum says her proudest accomplishment during her career is seeing the families she works with not only utilize community resources, but also gain the strength required to help others experiencing similar issues.

“This, I think, keeps all of us striving to provide what we can. A service which brings benefit to those in need,” Dullum says.