December 1, 2021
The Best Part of Human Nature
When Doug Sticha was in high school, he endured a snowmobile accident that changed his life. “I was with some friends putting our ice house on the lake, and I got my leg caught in a snowmobile track,” he explains. “It was a really serious injury and looking back, I could have died that day.” He ended up having multiple surgeries over the years before having his leg amputated below the knee. “I remember being in the hospital and feeling like I wasn’t managing my life in the way I should, and God kind of took over and helped guide me to do something different – something more productive with my life.”
For Sticha, his purpose became a calling to help others. “Through my experience as a patient, I realized how simple acts translate into significant comfort in easing pain and anxiety,” he recalls. So he became a physical therapist, which has been his profession for nearly 30 years.
He works in the Neuroscience Clinic – River Campus, where he assists people as they work through conditions, providing perspective and helping them improve their quality of life. This past year, he’s had an opportunity to lean into his purpose once again to help others, albeit in a different way.
“When the pandemic started, we weren’t seeing patients in clinic,” Sticha explains, “so we were reassigned to help other areas in need.” He was assigned to STEP Force, which is a team of people who help transport patients, deliver flowers, move beds and carts, and deliver patient belongings.
“I honestly did not have an appreciation for how much work the people in the red vests do, until I did it myself,” he said. “It was fairly physically demanding and some days you would walk up to 11 miles. It’s remarkable how important this role is and just how much our clinical teams lean on the STEP Force team to participate in the care of patients.”
After a few months wearing the red vest, his clinic’s operations started ramping back up and Sticha returned to his full-time role as a physical therapist. But the experience of being able to help other areas left an impression, so he signed up for the Labor Pool to lend a hand in other areas that needed staff.
His next assignment was working in the ICU with the critical care access team. “I wanted to be in an environment where I could witness hope in action,” said Sticha. Assisting a team working long hours and enduring the physical and emotional challenges during the pandemic, was truly inspiring. “I worked weekend and evening shifts, helping the ICU staff as much as possible,” he said. “Observing this team tirelessly caring for patients and families demonstrated our purpose in action. And seeing the team’s resilience and how they worked together is something I will never forget.”
Now, as another pandemic surge continues and staffing challenges continue to mount, Sticha is helping again – this time in Nutrition Services where he’s been picking up evening and weekend shifts since early October. “Many people don’t realize this team serves up to 1,000 meals a day,” he stated. His role is to support the needs of the kitchen, which includes helping build trays – an incredibly detailed process with many logistics. “Very few of the trays are the same due to the many choices and dietary restrictions,” he said. “When the time arrives to build the trays, the team gathers in support of the process to assure quality and to make sure every patient receives their exact order. This team is so hard working, helpful, positive and dedicated. I feel blessed to spend time in their department.”
“’I’ve always felt my calling was to make a difference in people’s lives through compassion and healing,” said Sticha. “And I see that in action everywhere in our organization. Whether it’s in Volunteer Services and STEP Force, the ICU, or in Nutrition Services, it’s people taking care of people, and rallying around the idea of helping others.”
“There’s so much negativity in the world, and people are increasingly frustrated and irritable,” he adds. “But being part of these different teams and seeing people come together and put aside differences to help patients has been inspiring. It’s given me a glimpse of the best part of human nature, which provides hope for our future.”
