“Are you a man of faith?”
That wasn’t the question Don Renz was expecting when he met with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ed Tingstad.
“Someone is watching out for you,” Dr. Tingstad went on to explain, “Because your arm is broken in 5 places, but not a bone is out of place. You my friend, do not need surgery.”
With a sling and a perhaps a silent prayer, Don was back to his shift at Bennett Lumber with even greater appreciation for "Dr. T" and the Pullman Regional Hospital Orthopedic Center of Excellence.
This wasn’t the first time Don had heard of Dr. Tingstad.
A little more than 3 years ago, Dr. Tingstad and his fellow orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steve Pennington, championed an athletic training program in partnership with the hospital’s Orthopedic Center of Excellence and four local high schools.
Don is the President for the Potlatch Logger Booster Club, and has enriched the lives of Potlatch students for more than 17 years through concessions and plant sales with the help of the booster club volunteers Ron Minden, Anna Bryngelson and Bridget Bailey.
Don has looked on from the concession stands for many a game as the hospital’s athletic trainer sprinted onto the football field to assess a downed player. A significant benefit of the program is immediate access to an orthopedic surgeon—Drs. Tingstad, Pennington and now, Kyle Hazelwood—fast-tracking a child’s care to skip the wait.
“Doctors like Dr. T are here for us, and through the hospital’s athletic training program, they are here for our kids too,” said Don. “The Logger Booster Club is proud to support this program. It’s all about the kids.”
Learn more about the Regional High School Athletic Training Program