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Earlier this year, Nick Formanski learned that he had been selected as one of six finalists for the 2024 Magnuson Founder’s Award, which recognizes employees for their outstanding service and dedication to the mission of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
It was a moment that “was overwhelming,” he said — “my proudest day at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab” — and was more than two decades in the making.
In November 2001 Nick was admitted as an inpatient on the 7th Floor at RIC after sustaining a traumatic spinal cord injury. In 2008, six years after his discharge, Nick returned as an employee on the research team. Today, Nick utilizes his personal experience and professional expertise as a senior project coordinator with the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research (CROR) and peer mentor with the Henry B. Betts, MD, LIFE Center.
What did it feel like to be selected as a finalist for the Magnuson Founder’s Award?
I was overwhelmed. I enjoy what I do, so it's a real honor.
What is your role with CROR?
I work on the Midwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care System (MRSCICS). This is a longitudinal study that we've been involved with since 1973. For this study, we interview patients, following up after their stay for traumatic spinal cord injury. Each interview can take up to an hour, and I can do as many as 100 interviews in a year. We're one of 18 hospitals that participate in this study; all of our data is abstracted from Cerner and sent to the University of Alabama. My first job is to talk to patients to get them to consent to be part of this study. From there, we follow up with them with an interview right before they're discharged. Then, we do follow-up interviews one year after their injury date, five years after their injury date, and then continue with additional interviews every five years thereafter. So far this year, I've interviewed two patients from 50 years ago.
That’s incredible! When you're interviewing someone five or more years after initially speaking with them, do you recall their stories from your last conversation?
Yes, it definitely happens; they share their story of their injury and you can really bond with them. I mean, you can touch so many people’s lives working here. That’s exactly why I wanted to work here after being a patient 22 years ago.
What was your experience as a patient?
I had a spinal cord injury and went through my rounds of acute-care and then transitioned into RIC. Nov. 1, 2001, was my admit date, and I was there until the end of January of 2002. The experience I had as a patient led me to want to work here. I always told everybody that this place was like a home away from home. It was just a place of comfort coming here, whether it was for a follow-up with my physician or seeing all the PTs, OTs, nurses and PCTs who’d helped me.
When I was an inpatient, everybody — my doctor, PTs, OTs, nurses and PCTs — were amazing. Everybody just cared. They cared about every patient, they were compassionate about every patient. You could just feel it, you know? That attitude of “push, push, push, let's do it” made a big difference.
What was it like on that first day that you entered the building as an employee, rather than as a patient?
It was just overwhelming, totally overwhelming. But at the same time, it just felt right. Even today, after all the years I've been there, it just doesn't feel like work. I enjoy the people I work with; it's just such a great group who are enjoyable to be around.
If you could describe Shirley Ryan AbilityLab using one word, what would you use and why?
How about two words? “Compassion” and “caring.” When I was an inpatient, everybody — my doctor, PTs, OTs, nurses and PCTs — were amazing. Everybody just cared. They cared about every patient, they were compassionate about every patient. You could just feel it, you know? Mondays were not the worst day of the week for them. They'd come in bright-eyed and ready to get going. That attitude of “push, push, push, let's do it” made a big difference. I made a lot of connections and stayed friends with everyone after that.
What about your experience as a peer mentor in the Henry B. Betts, MD, LIFE Center — how did you get involved with that?
I’ve been a peer mentor since 2009, the year after I was hired. Today, when the LIFE Center’s Cris Mix identifies a patient with a similar SCI experience as I’ve had, she'll send me an email or give me a call. It doesn’t happen too often, maybe a couple of times a year, but I have had situations where I have done a peer mentor visit with a patient and then, the very next day, seen them again to ask them to consent for the longitudinal study.
What are your favorite memories of working at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab?
One was my very first day. Second was being selected as one of the six finalists for the Magnuson. Third is running into past patients that enrolled into the database study and catching up with them.