2022 Travel Team Feature: Chris Stavenger
We are gearing up for Operation Walk Pittsburgh’s 2022 mission trip, and it is approaching quickly. This year’s trip will be our seventh to Antigua, Guatemala, and our twelfth trip overall. We enjoy returning to Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro, our partner hospital in Antigua, which we affectionately call our home away from home. The relationships formed over the last 13 years of traveling there are lasting.
Travel team members generously volunteer their time, talent, and energy toward our shared goal of providing the gift of mobility to patients in need. There are financial and time commitments that each travel team member reaches in order to make the mission a reality for our patients. Despite this, many of our volunteers have traveled on at least 50% - 75% of our missions over the years.
Meet our next travel team member to be featured, Chris Stavenger. Chris is from North Carolina, and this will be his first ever mission with Operation Walk Pittsburgh. We are excited for him to join the team and bring his experience in orthopaedics to Antigua to help give the gift of mobility to our patients. Read on to learn more about Chris, his career, and what brings him to Operation Walk Pittsburgh!
Meet Travel Team Member Chris Stavenger!
From where does Chris hail? What made him passionate about healthcare?
Chris grew up in Moorhead, MN. He has always played sports and loved to travel from a young age. Growing up, Chris was fortunate to be able to learn about orthopedics from his dad, who is a retired orthopaedic surgeon. This background led him to want to become an orthopaedic physician assistant. Chris has worked in orthopaedics in one capacity or another for his whole career and finally realized his lifelong goal when he graduated from physician assistant school in 2006.
Chris and his family moved to the Charlotte area in 2015 and have enjoyed many warm summers there. He told us that they do not miss the snow and cold of Minnesota. Chris has been married to his wife, Jamie, for 14 years, and they have two wonderful kids - a daughter, Kendall, who is 12 years old, and a son, Carter, who is 10. Chris loves to travel, play golf, and stays busy with dance/ballet (Kendall) and travel baseball (Carter). His favorite places to travel include: Australia, New Zealand, Syracuse, NY, Seattle, WA, and Washington, D.C.
What is Chris most proud of?
Chris is most proud of his 16-year career and that he has treated every single person to the best of his abilities. He truly cares about his patients and has always treated them as a person, not just a patient.
“I've heard that once you go on one trip, you realize how much this is like a family just trying to help.” - Chris
What is Chris’ role and what brings him to Operation Walk?
Chris will be working as a physician assistant in the operating room. His duties will include getting the patient positioned and draped for surgery, assisting the surgeons during surgery, wound closure, and following the patient throughout recovery. Chris first heard of OpWalk from a fellow physician assistant with whom he trained and who is also a 2-time travel team member. He said he is very excited to utilize his skills and training in a mission setting with Operation Walk Pittsburgh. Chris told us that he feels like this will be an amazing opportunity for him to experience and understand what healthcare delivery is like in a developing country and that he is excited to help others who would otherwise not have access to the orthopaedic care they desperately need.
When asked the three words he would use to describe Operation Walk Pittsburgh, Chris answered, EXCITED, HUMBLED, THANKFUL.
Please consider making a donation in Chris’ name to support his fundraising commitment. Remember, 100% of all donations made to Operation Walk Pittsburgh directly support patient care during the mission. Won’t you help Chris reach his fundraising goal?