Sam T. – "Attentive"

Helping others achieve their goals so they can live safely and independently at home is the heart of this Home Health Occupational Therapist. This is Sam’s story.

As he reflects on his upbringing, Sam always seemed to cross paths with people in need. His mother, a counselor by profession, showed him what it meant to give of your heart to make someone else’s life better. Her example inspired him to pursue a career where he could make a difference.

Sam began his career in healthcare as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Helping others with the activities of daily living and discovering the best way to assist them with transferring, showering or just staying safe and comfortable steered him towards occupational therapy.  

During school, Sam did an internship with some clinicians from Interim HealthCare which fueled his interest in home health. “Interim has a good reputation for quality care, and I knew I wanted to try home health as well. It just seemed like a good fit for occupational therapy because that’s what we do. We make things work for people and people want to be home,” said Sam. At the time, he was part of a bridge program and was working as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant. After he graduated and passed his boards, Sam joined Interim HealthCare in Greenville, SC as a Home Health Occupational Therapist in 2018. 

His office is very supportive. “While you might feel like you’re by yourself, you’re surrounded by people ready to help,” he said. From all sides of management, they take the time to answer any questions he has and are willing to work things out together.  

The most rewarding part of Sam’s job is the ability to go into someone’s home and make a way for them to do what they want to do. This involves creativity, and learning how a patient learns and thinks. No two people are alike, nor are the solutions that allow them to accomplish their goals. It’s more than walking, strengthening and exercises—it’s finding out what hobbies they enjoy and what’s important to them and bringing it all together to enable them to live life to the fullest. “It’s my job to help people discover that again,” he said.

Sam recalls one patient who had not gotten out of bed for six months due to significant arthritis pain and heart issues. Her goal was to live independently again. “When you walk in on that, it seems pretty hard, but you’re going to fight for them and you’re going to do what you can to make a difference,” he said. The first few sessions, they simply talked about how she would be safe and what the body was going to do and how it was going to feel. There’s a lot of listening, responding and digging to discover what a patient’s real needs are. In her case, it meant addressing the fear head on, but in a gentle manner. Eventually, she sat up. Then, she stood up. And finally, she walked. Sam worked with her for about three months. She recently went into the kitchen and made her first meal. “Just being able to hear her and seeing her joy when she stood up for the first time in six months, to be a part of that, and to share in her joy was pretty incredible,” said Sam.

His attentiveness, ability to listen and pay attention to the details to discern what is meaningful to his patients has made him an outstanding occupational therapist. Without question, Sam is made for this!