Page 26 - COM Outlook - Winter 2013

26 COM Outlook . Winter 2013
and had been suffering from chest pains for
14 hours.
“We kept him alive in the office, which
was unbelievable,” said Dr. Sandhouse of
this pivotal career experience. “We called the
paramedics, who took the man to the hospi-
tal. The patient improved, but his condition
deteriorated on Friday night.
“One of the things I am the proudest of is
that the most difficult circumstances of this
event took place on a Saturday,” added Dr.
Sandhouse. “The hospital called me at 1:00
a.m. on Saturday and told me my patient had
died. I am not ashamed to tell my students
that I cried, even though I knew when I
walked into the office days earlier to begin
treatment that he had virtually no chance of
surviving. I tried to call his wife, but her ho-
tel’s switchboard was off between 11:00 p.m.
on Friday and 7:00 a.m. on Saturday.”
Before sunrise on Saturday, Dr. Sand-
house got dressed and drove to the hospital
where the man had died. He studied the
chart, reviewing it to make sure he hadn’t
missed anything and realized again there
was nothing more he could have done for his
patient. Still, he had to be sure.
After leaving the hospital at 3:00 a.m.
on Saturday morning, Dr. Sandhouse went
home and slept for a few hours. At 6:30 a.m.,
he tried again to reach the patient’s wife.
Sadly, she had already received the news
of her husband’s death from police officers.
The passing of her husband had devastated
her—and more problems were in store.
Although she and her husband had driven
to South Florida from Canada together, she
didn’t know how to drive. In addition, all the
travelers’ checks and credit cards were in
her husband’s name, which meant she was
stranded in South Florida.
Dr. Sandhouse and his business partner
met the woman at her hotel, took her to the
police station, and accompanied her to an
office to change the travelers’ checks to her
name. Then, after getting the widow a hot
meal, Dr. Sandhouse signed the death certifi-
cate and visited the funeral home in charge of
transferring the body back to Canada.
Most doctors would not have gone to
those extraordinary lengths, which is why this
particular story crystallizes Dr. Sandhouse’s
commitment to his work. “When I tell my
students that story, I tell them that when it
stops making me feel like I want to cry, when
I stop feeling like I want to do this work, then
I am going to go pump gas somewhere. I will
be out of medicine.”
Thankfully, that time has not yet come.
A Career at NSU-COM Beckons
In May 1993, he left the Americanadian
practice. Then came a call from his former
fellowship partner Dr. Mondello about an
opening in NSU-COM’s Department of
Osteopathic Principles and Practice, which
sounded promising. At the interview, Dr.
Sandhouse said he was “essentially hired on
the spot.” Thanks to that fortuitous meeting,
Dr. Sandhouse has been serving as a faculty
member in the Department of Osteopathic
Principles and Practice since July 1993.
Despite the numerous demands of his
busy career, Dr. Sandhouse makes it a prior-
ity to spend quality time with his family, which
includes children Brenda and Ryan from his
first marriage as well as his two stepchildren,
Christopher and Haste, with his second wife,
Robbyn. As his children have progressed to
adulthood, Dr. Sandhouse has been able to
bond even closer with them by partaking in
fun family outings that have included taking
several trips to Europe.
During a typically busy workweek,
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are spent
in the OPP Lab teaching OMM techniques to
first- and second-year students. On Thurs-
day mornings, David Boesler, D.O., and Dr.
Sandhouse spend time with the predoctoral
OPP fellows discussing leadership topics to
keep the fellows abreast of knowledge based
on medical theory as well as examining
patient assessments and treatments. He also
sees patients four half days a week, including
Wednesday evenings.
Recognizing his analytical mind, the
college’s dean, Dr. Anthony J. Silvagni,
asked him to lead a committee that
oversees all the policy and procedures
within NSU-COM. Writing and reviewing
the defining documents calls for making
sure ambiguities or loopholes are closed
academically and legally. According to Dr.
Sandhouse, this requires “putting out fires,”
Pictured (clockwise from left) are a freckle-faced Dr. Sandhouse at age nine; enjoying some family time
with his children Brenda and Ryan; savoring a memorable trip to London in 2009 with wife Robbyn,
celebrating his birthday in style by participating in a high-flying helicopter ride; taking in the historic sites
in Italy during a 2011 vacation; visiting Stonehenge on a bleak and cloudy day in 2009.