Rick Staab is all about doing things people don’t expect him to. This is partially why he’s involved in a lot of different projects, from new businesses to running an Ultra Ragnar (200 miles with five of your closest friends). But Rick isn’t just out here to prove people wrong — he’s actively trying to make an impact in every single venture he takes on.
“I want to create a bigger challenge so I can have a bigger impact. But only if it’s more efficient and more effective.”
This is exactly what Rick has done with The InterMed Group. His background in health technology set him up to take on this company, head-on. Initially, InterMed was split into five different companies, each focusing on a different specialty within hospital services. Now, the company is one unit, servicing hospitals in the Southeast with the latest equipment.
“In healthcare, technology changes all the time. It’s things that take care of lives — your mother, your daughter, your sister, whoever.”
Rick and his family understand how advancement in healthcare can change the course of an entire family’s life. Rick’s son, Tyler, was diagnosed with dystonia at seven. Dystonia is a movement disorder where brain signals and muscle contractions get mixed up, making things like picking up a coffee cup difficult. Ultimately, dystonia takes away control from individuals.
“It’s like caging somebody up. It’s hard for him to talk…to walk, do the normal things every day.”
A few years after Tyler’s diagnosis, Rick’s daughter, Samantha, was also diagnosed with dystonia. She went through similar treatments that Tyler had been one of the youngest to test years prior — she’s now at the University of Alabama, preparing to study nursing or pre-med.
This first-hand experience has given Rick an even stronger desire to make a difference within the healthcare industry. He and his employees are raising awareness, donating money to research, and using their pull within the industry to make life easier for individuals who live with a disorder like dystonia.
“We want to make healthcare more accessible for patients.”
Rick and his family’s organization, Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure, is working to discover more about dystonia every day. They’re hosting golf tournaments to raise money for research, actively educating their community about the disorder, and reaching out to other families who have similar experiences. The Staabs are taking their influence (both business and personal) and working toward a cure — something Rick is confident they’ll find.
“I’d hate to leave this planet one day and not have done enough.”
Listen to the 145th episode of the WHOA GNV podcast to listen to the rest of Rick and his family’s inspirational story.
