Iliana McGurn LCSW

Iliana Bazan McGurn, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) joined University Health Transplant Institute (UHTI) Aug 2016.She moved into a clinical role (within the department) in 2019 with the promotion to the sole pediatric transplant social worker at UTHI. Iliana also works as a therapist, running her own private practice since May 2021. She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Franciscan University May of 2009. She then went on to obtain her Master of Social Work at University of Houston in 2013. In March of 2019 Iliana sat for her clinical licensure exam and became a LCSW. In her noteworthy role within pediatric transplant, she, along with her co-presenter, created the first pediatric support group for the center. Iliana introduced the team to the significance of ACEs and improved processes to include the awareness of medical trauma on the pediatric population and their families. Iliana has a passion for understanding trauma, the effect of trauma on the brain and how it presents throughout the entire body. Iliana has worked in transplant for seven and a half years. She started her career in medical social work in 2013. However, hospital settings have not been her entire career’s focus. Iliana has worked in Chicago assisting men involved in sex work, lived in Belize meeting the needs of the community, and worked as an adjunct professor at Franciscan University. Iliana’s goal is to continue to build the pediatric social worker role at UTHI and demonstrate the importance of mental health in the hospital setting. With the support of physicians and administration, Iliana is hoping to create a fulltime therapist position for the pediatric population to focus on transitioning pediatric patients to adult settings. Iliana has the hope of decreasing non-compliance, addressing apathy often experienced by adolescents, and minimizing risk of graft rejection.