COMPANY HISTORY - PERSONAL STORY


When I was 11 years old (1989) my father was taking me to baseball practice when he received a STAT call to the emergency room. I grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas which is a small town and my dad was the only pediatrician in the area. Hearing the call come in, I knew that my afternoon plans were about to change. Anytime dad got a STAT call and I was already in the car, I went with him because there was no time to drop me off. Normally, I liked this because we got to go as fast as possible to the hospital; this time, however, it would leave a lasting impression on me forever.

We arrived at the emergency room and the situation was chaos. Dad instructed me to sit behind the reception desk and wait until he had finished his work. Near the ambulance entrance, they were bringing in an 11 year old girl. She looked pale on the stretcher and as they wheeled her into the ER, she was announced DOA (dead on arrival). She had been playing around her house and part of her home was under construction. Eleven-hundred pounds of sheet rock fell on her and crushed her throat. She suffocated due to her air passage being severed. Dad and the other medical team tried to revive her and they did the best they could. It was an extremely painful situation to watch. The girl's father was hysterical and her mother was in shock. The family preacher was there trying to comfort them and the hospital receptionist was asking for insurance cards and other documents.

The hardest thing to witness was when my dad walked out of the trauma room and into the family waiting room to communicate the news to the parents. Dad proceeded to explain that they had done all they could, but they could not save their daughter.

As I left the ER that day, I looked at my dad and I told him that I could never do what he just did. I could never look someone in the eye and tell them I tried but could not save their loved one. His response was that he has been fortunate to help so many, that even no matter how hard you try, you cannot help every patient.

As an 11 year old child, I looked at my father, and I told him that one day, I would make products and services that would make the job of doctors easier. That was my promise of contribution to his work, and still to this day, this life changing event reminds me why I design and implement efficient healthcare systems and products that make healthcare easier to deliver.

Interestingly, my sister went on to become a pediatrician as well and they both work and teach at the University of Arkansas Medical School and continue to touch the lives of children and their families everyday. Because of my experience when I was 11, I took the route of engineering (undergraduate) and business (graduate) and have been just as fortunate to contribute to healthcare by being able to design systems and products which allow lives to be touched more effectively each day.