(From a company brochure for Stagner Orthopedic Services)
The mission of Stagner Orthopedic Services was established before its founder was even born: December 1968, in a field in Vietnam—when B.J. Stagner’s father lost his right leg to a landmine.
As a child, B.J. Stagner watched his father adapt to life as an amputee, forming the son’s approach to his life today. “I grew up watching him,” Stagner says, “playing with his prosthesis, trying to stick my leg down inside of it.” Stagner saw his father go through things he now wishes he could have saved him from. But his father’s perseverance so impressed young B.J. that his calling was set from the beginning.
“Dad worked harder and more than most people I know. He didn’t stop at anything, and still doesn’t. He even competed in fast–pitch softball and whipped everybody he went against. To me that’s what a prosthesis is about—enabling someone to continue living life the way they want to.”
Years later, when young Stagner entered college, football was his passion. He was an inside linebacker until a drunk driver sent him through a windshield and sidelined him for a year. After recovering, he returned to the game and became a Conference Collegiate All–American inside linebacker. But he eventually found his life’s calling wasn’t on the gridiron.
“I saw what the medical community can do. From my therapists to my orthopedic surgeon—and growing up as the son of an amputee—it all fell into place.”
The clinic’s mission
Also falling into place was B.J. Stagner’s spiritual calling. After doctors said he wouldn’t recover fully from a hip injury suffered in the auto accident, Stagner defied the diagnosis. Later, a medical journal featured his injury on the cover as a medical miracle. Today, as well as serving in his medical career, Stagner is pastor of a Nashville–area congregation.
With that in mind, the clinic’s spiritual mission is expressed within Ephesians 4:1—“…walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…”
“Whether you choose a field or the field is chosen for you, you need to walk worthy of it. That’s what I believe we do here.”
Where small–town caring meets new technology
The centerpiece of Stagner’s clinic is state–of–the–art know–how with the latest medical and engineering technology.
While some prosthetic components are manufactured elsewhere, the custom–fitted materials are produced in Stagner’s on–site lab. Prostheses are measured digitally, providing quantitative data of the limb so practitioners can make accurate modifications on slight levels rather than by trial–and–error guesses. “It gives us the ability to put it into the computer digitally, perform minute modifications to the shape of the socket in order to study the fit, and consequently provide an intimate–fitting prosthesis that fits well and looks good at the same time.”
At Stagner Orthopedic Services, the prosthetic structure is engineer–designed using the same scientific approach as the aeronautics industry. “It’s based on I–beam theory where strength comes from the outer layer,” Stagner says. “It’s just like building a modern skyscraper or an airplane—it’s a study in how something can be light and strong at the same time. There is nothing stronger or lighter than what we can produce.”
Putting the patient first
Putting the patient above all else, however, is the basic mission of the clinic. “When I started this practice, I did nothing but house calls and hospital calls,” Stagner says. “I did that for a reason—to put the patient first and bring back a service that was long forgotten.” While now the great majority of work with patients occurs in the clinic’s North Nashville office, Stagner still goes to the patient, the hospital, rehab center or to the doctor’s office. “I work hard to make sure a patient’s taken care of. We treat patients, not just provide prosthetics and orthotics. Each doctor or referral knows our patients are in good hands when they’re here.”
Always in the back of B.J. Stagner’s professional mind, however, is his father. “Because of his sacrifice I’m a practitioner today—I wouldn’t have gotten into this field had my Dad not lost that leg. I always like to think that we treat each and every one of our patients like I would want my Dad treated.” ⊗