Baptist Memorial Health Care and cityCURRENT hosted a free community reception with Dr. Natalie Stavas, program director for Child Protection Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, on Thursday, Sept. 18. in Garrett Auditorium on Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis’ campus. Stavas also served as keynote speaker at the cityCURRENT Signature Speaker Series on Friday, Sept. 19.
“On April 15, 2023, Dr. Stavas’ life was changed forever. She had just run 26 miles and was about to finish the Boston Marathon when bombs detonated at the finish line. Instead of turning around and running away, she ran toward the chaos and saved four lives that day,” said CEO and Administrator of Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women and the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital Allison Chase, who spoke at the reception. “An avid runner, her philosophy for success is to ‘run toward it.’ She attacks every obstacle with the same attitude: ‘You run toward that which challenges you.’”
For helping victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, Stavas was honored by President Barack Obama and named “2013 Bostonian of the Year” by the Boston Globe.
An award-winning physician and humanitarian, Stavas specializes in work with vulnerable children and victims of abuse and decreasing youth violence. At the reception, she discussed the importance of altruism and strategies for conquering fear and finding meaning in a chaotic world.
The event supported Baptist’s SHE (Science, Health, Empowerment) Leads the Way Program.
