By Audrey Sellers
When something isn'tbrquite right with the body, whether it's a broken bone, a toothache or a morebrserious ailment, healthcare professionals come to the rescue. Making thingsbrright is what they do. Like superheroes in scrubs, they save the day for theirbrpatients, often going above and beyond the call of duty. We caught up with abrlocal orthopedic surgeon, registered nurse and husband-and-wife dental team whobrdon't just treat patients—they help create a better life for others.
Howard Harris, M.D.
Orthopedic surgeon at Texas Orthopedic Specialists
When patients arrive atbrDr. Howard Harris' office at Texas Orthopedic Specialists, they often just wantbrto get back to their daily lives—working, fishing, golfing. As an orthopedicbrsurgeon specializing in the shoulder, there's no greater joy for Harris thanbrhelping his patients get back to their everyday activities.
“The most rewarding partbrof being a shoulder specialist is seeing somebody return to an activity theybrlove that they couldn't do when I first started to take care of them,” he says.
A native of North Texas, Dr.brHarris has been a physician with Texas Orthopedic Specialists for more than 13bryears. He gravitated toward the shoulder after starting his practice, citingbr“the mechanical aspect of orthopedic surgery in conjunction with thebrintellectual part of medicine” as why he chose to pursue his chosen field.
When someone is impairedbrby a shoulder injury, it's difficult to perform even simple tasks such asbrbrushing their teeth or washing their hair. And when it comes to sports, abrshoulder injury can be devastating—not just to the athlete, but to the entirebrteam.
Dr. Harris is passionatebrabout helping athletes return to their game. He's the team physician for localbrschools Euless Trinity and Faith Christian, where his three children arebrstudents.
At the start of eachbrschool year, Dr. Harris and the physicians at his practice provide physicalsbrfor several local high schools including Birdville and Boswell. Students pay a smallbrfee, which goes toward the athletic program to buy whatever is needed, from newbrequipment to a new ice machine. And on Friday nights during football season, Dr.brHarris volunteers at Euless Trinity or Faith Christian, ready to assist thebrschool's medical trainers if someone gets injured.
“I've always lovedbrworking with athletes and athletic departments,” he says. “With even a minorbrinjury, there's an urgency to get a treatment plan so athletes can get back tobrthe sport.”
Volunteering for Dr. Harrisbrdoesn't stop at the sidelines; he's also involved with several philanthropies,brincluding the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a globalbrorganization that funds Type 1 diabetes research, and the Arthritis Foundation,brwhich aims to raise awareness and reduce the impact of arthritis.
Dr. Harris' practicebrsupports the Arthritis Foundation from an orthopedic standpoint, serving as abrresource for the organization and contributing to its fundraising efforts. ThebrJDRF is especially near to Dr. Harris' heart; his son is a Type 1 diabetic.brOver the past eight years, Dr. Harris has participated in the organization'sbrannual gala, walk and various fundraising events.
On a local level,brwhenever there's a hurt in the community, Dr. Harris doesn't hesitate to helpbrwith the healing. When his friends Greg and Tina Clifton tragically lost theirbr17-year-old son, Chance, in a car accident, Dr. Harris volunteered his timebrwith their nonprofit, the Chance Clifton LIVE BIG Foundation. He served on thebradvisory board and participated in numerous events to help bring awareness tobrthe organization, which provides educational scholarships and comfort tobrfamilies suffering from tragic loss.
For Dr. Harris, gettingbrinvolved in times of need just comes naturally. “There's an inherent drive inbrme to want to help other people,” he says. “It's an honor getting to helpbrsomeone and put a smile on their face.”
Hannah Swysgood, R.N.
Registered nurse at Baylor Scott & White MedicalbrCenter - Grapevine
Providing comfort andbrcare: It's a huge component of Hannah Swysgood's role as a registered nurse atbrBaylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine. But Swysgood doesn't justbrmake sure patients have their basic needs taken care of. “We try to givebrpatients the absolute best care that we can,” she says. “We care for them likebrwe would our closest family members.”
Swysgood is relativelybrnew to the nursing field—she has been a registered nurse for two years—but shebrhas already taken on a leadership role with her team of nurses in thebrProgressive Care Unit (PCU). Swysgood is a magnet champion, which means she'sbron a mission to make sure the nurses on her floor deliver the best nursing carebrpossible.
“Magnet is globallybrrecognized as the highest level of nursing care. As a magnet champion, I'm focusedbron making the team stronger,” Swysgood says. “It's educating them about why webrprovide the best care 100-percent of the time. It's getting the team involvedbrand excited.”
Swysgood also keeps thebrconcerns of her nursing team at the forefront by serving as chair of the SharedbrGovernance Council. “Shared Governance takes the issues of each individual andbrthe whole unit and brings them to the forefront to drive the condition of thebrunit,” she says. “It can be challenging because everyone comes to me with theirbrcomplaints. But I get to be part of making a big difference.”
When nurses became fatigued,brSwysgood had chaplains talk to the staff about managing burnout. The chaplainsbrsuggested doing something as a team outside the unit, so the nurses went outbrfor a team dinner together. And when blood pressure monitors weren't working properly,brthe council wrote a letter to upper-level management. Nurses got the equipmentbrthey needed.
Helping her fellow nursesbris a major source of pride for Swysgood. “I'm so proud to be part of the PCUbrteam,” she says. “I work with nurses who are always willing to go the extrabrmile—the extra 10 miles. If there's anything they can do to help me, they willbrdo it, even if their load is as heavy as mine.”
Not only do herbrcolleagues inspire Swysgood to go to work each day; her patients and their familiesbrdo, too. Swysgood is an advocate for her patients, helping them understand thebrnext step in their care. “It's funny and entertaining at times,” she says, “andbrat other times, it's heart-wrenching when I have to explain a hard diagnosis orbrprovide end-of-life care.”
It's in those moments,brwhen she mourns with a family who has just lost a loved one, that Swysgood feelsbrthe magnitude of her job.
“I've had family membersbrcome back to the floor and give us a box of cookies because they were sobrthankful we made the transition for their loved one to pass away a littlebrsmoother,” she says. “The family saw it was peaceful and that they weren'tbrstruggling anymore.”
Knowing she's making abrdifference—in the lives of her patients and their families—inspires her to providebrthe best care every day, just as she encourages her colleagues to do.
“It's not just a job.brIt's a huge, life-changing position that I get to hold,” Swysgood says. “It'sbrreally, truly the best job in the world.”
Jonathan Angwin, D.D.S., and Kristen Angwin, D.D.S.
Dentists at Just For Grins
Drs. Jonathan and KristenbrAngwin, dentists at Just For Grins in Keller, live their lives guided by thebrfamiliar mantra: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by whatbrwe give.”
The husband-and-wife teambrbrightens smiles for their patients and for those in need—in the localbrcommunity and around the world. Each year, the Angwins sponsor a “Smiles forbrLife” campaign, offering teeth whitening in their office to raise money forbrseriously ill, disabled or underprivileged children in the community. They alsobrpartner with Milestone Church in Keller to provide dental exams, X-rays andbrcleanings to single moms in the community.
“Our goal is to live eachbrday with purpose and constantly strive to improve the lives of those aroundbrus,” says Jonathan.
Their outreach isbrfar-reaching; the Angwins are actively involved in global mission work. They'vebrtraveled with the organization Crown Council, an alliance of leading-edgebrdentists around the world, to provide dental care to hundreds of povertybrstricken patients in Honduras and Dominican Republic. This summer, they'llbrtravel to Nicaragua with their church for 1 Nation 1 Day, a worldwide missionsbrtrip.
The need for dental carebrin third-world countries is staggering. “Many of these individuals have neverbrseen a dentist,” Kristen says. “Most came because of severe pain and infectionbror because they were concerned with the aesthetics of their front teeth.”
Jonathan adds, “Whatbrstood out to me was the overall excitement to receive dental care. With a smilebron their faces, our patients would wait all day in the hot sun to have a dentalbrexam and whatever treatment we could perform.”
Kristen recalls meeting abrwoman on one of the mission trips who broke her two front teeth due to extremebrdecay. “She refused to smile, her self-esteem was so low,” says Kristen. Afterbrroot canals and restoring the front teeth with white fillings, she says thebrwoman “walked away with the biggest smile and kept wanting us to take picturesbron our phones so she could see her teeth.”
While many organizationsbrhelp provide food, clean water and life-saving medicine to those in need inbrunder-developed nations, dental care is often considered a luxury. The Angwinsbrare doing their part to provide a service that isn't considered essential butbris so desperately needed.
“I wanted to go into thebrmedical field because I wanted to care for those in need,” Kristen says. “Ibrtruly love providing a service to others that not only puts a smile on theirbrfaces but also can provide relief to pain they've been experiencing for years.”
Since opening Just ForbrGrins in 2008, the Angwins have received numerous awards and accolades,brincluding the Crown Council Practice of the Month and the Keller Citizen Best of the Best Dentist Award. The best reward,brthough, is seeing patients flash their pearly whites.
“I work with kids allbrday, so the more smiles and giggles, the better,” says Kristen. “My goal is tobrnot only create an environment that kids are comfortable in, but to make JustbrFor Grins an office they want to visit.”
Whether they're in theirbroffice in Keller or traveling the globe on a mission trip, the Angwins arebrthankful to be able to spread smiles. “Every day is a gift,” says Jonathan,br“and we are grateful for the opportunity to influence so many lives around us.”brSS
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