Here at Spine Team Texas, we view each of our employees as multi-faceted individuals with dynamic lives that often outshine their starring role with us. From family adventures to unique hobbies, each team member is encouraged to live their life to the fullest, without concern of work bearing down them. We accomplish this by providing top-tier benefits and promoting a culture that takes work-life balance very seriously. This is just one of the many advantages we are proud to exhibit when compared to other medical organizations.
Take Ryan McCarthy for Example. Ryan is a family man, pro sports contractor, and also one of our physical therapy aides at our Rockwall location. He has been with Spine Team Texas for about 7 years, and in that time, he watched his first son become a talented basketball player and helped nurture his second son as a newborn during the pandemic. Beyond his family, Mr. McCarthy has a serious interest in professional sports, to the point that he works with the camera crew at major sporting events in the Dallas area.
Gone To Texas
Growing up in Mississippi, Ryan was a student athlete, playing the “usual sports”, such as Baseball, Basketball, and Football. Although he did not play Division 1 sports at his alma matter, Mississippi State University, it was in Starkville that his interest in working high-profile sporting events began. In-between his studies for Kinesiology, Ryan would help broadcast Bulldog games for multiple sports. And even now that he is one of our team members, Ryan still maintains this professional hobby, working events like Cowboys games at AT&T Stadium.
More important than Mr. McCarthy’s relationship with professional sports is his relationship with his family. Like many people, his voice bursts with joy when discussing his wife and children. Though he knew his wife from Mississippi, as she would visit from time to time, she is actually from Michigan. Between the love of his life in the Midwest, and his love for sports teams across the country, Ryan was primed to move from Mississippi in search of his next chapter. When asked why he and his wife moved here to Texas 8 years ago, he put it very simply, “Opportunity.”
As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, including our medical industry. So out of all the opportunities that Mr. McCarthy had upon moving here, Spine Team Texas is proud to have been Ryan’s organization of choice. For the past 7 years, Mr. McCarthy has been getting to work early, opening up, an turning the lights on. He’s usually the first one in, around 6:45am just in time for our first patient(s). After a full day of checking patients in and walking them through their treatment plan, he gets off with plenty of time to take his son to basketball practice- an activity that both he and his son truly love to experience together. Ryan is an honest man, so when he says, “my kid can really shoot,” you better believe it!
Response to COVID
In addition to raising his first son and watching him develop into a talented basketball player, Ryan had his second son during the pandemic! This of course had its own unique challenges, but it was made easier thanks to the actions Spine Team Texas took in order to keep the business strong and thriving during such a difficult time. Our primary goal was to keep the organization whole. While many other businesses and industries had to let people go, Spine Team Texas went above and beyond to adapt to the situation and keep everyone on board. In Ryan’s case, it meant he worked as a PT Aide remotely from home. Many other families with newborns during that time were not as fortunate. Now his son is around 3 years old, and soon the youngest McCarthy will be starting his very own sports career.
As you might imagine, working in Physical Therapy from a remote setting had inherent issues that Ryan and our entire team worked diligently to address. We appreciate each team member’s hard work and patience. Instead of talking in person and walking them through their treatment program, we had to do this digitally, which caused us to also become technology teachers for many of our older clients. While this was technically never in the job description, we pride ourselves on our culture of excellence in patient care, and sometimes that means you have to roll up your sleeves.
Our Commitment to DEIB
More than a family man and PT aide, Ryan also is helping lead the effort within Spine Team Texas to promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Such initiatives are becoming increasingly important in organizations of all sizes and industries. Small organizations with many different roles, such as Spine Team Texas, are no exception and may in fact benefit even more from implementing DEIB initiatives due to the unique challenges we face.
One of the primary benefits of DEIB initiatives is the ability to attract and retain top talent. Spine Team Texas can struggle competing against much larger companies for employees, but our vision is to create a competitive advantage by offering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. This can help attract employees who value diversity and inclusion and create a sense of belonging for all employees, regardless of their background or identity.
DEIB initiatives can also lead to improved innovation and problem-solving. When employees from diverse backgrounds come together to work on a project, they bring a range of perspectives, experiences, and skills to the table. This can help the organization develop innovative solutions to complex challenges and make better decisions. Additionally, employees who feel included and valued are more likely to speak up and share their ideas, which can further contribute to the organization’s success.
Implementing DEIB initiatives can also help organizations avoid legal and reputational risks. Discrimination and harassment in the workplace can lead to lawsuits, negative publicity, and damage to the organization’s reputation. By proactively addressing these issues through DEIB initiatives, organizations can create a safer and more respectful workplace for all employees.
Furthermore, DEIB initiatives can improve customer relations and drive business growth. As society becomes more diverse, customers are increasingly expecting businesses to reflect their values and beliefs. A diverse and inclusive workplace can help organizations better understand their customers and create products and services that meet their needs. This can lead to increased customer loyalty and drive business growth.
To implement DEIB initiatives in organizations with many different roles like Spine Team Texas, it’s important to start by creating a culture of inclusivity and belonging. This can include establishing clear values and expectations, promoting open communication and collaboration, and providing training and education on diversity and inclusion topics. It’s also important to regularly assess and measure the effectiveness of DEIB initiatives to ensure they are achieving their intended goals.
The Spine Team Difference
We are very fortunate to employ people that have a passion for initiatives such as these, and we welcome everyone to come to the table with their ideas for improving our organization in any way they see fit. Ryan embraced that opportunity, and now we are on a path towards developing a committee and engaging our entire team in the process. We have so many different roles at Spine Team Texas, but each person truly belongs, and we hope to express that through our DEIB initiatives. Knowing how passionate Mr. McCarthy is about his family and his sports, we have no doubt that his passion for DEIB will continue to help lead us forward.
Now, it should be noted that we embrace all people, yes, even Philadelphia Eagles fans. Just because Ryan moved here and he has worked NFL games at Cowboys Stadium, does not mean he’s a Cowboys fan. No, he prefers their rival. In fact, his favorite game that he has worked was when the Eagles came to town late one season in December (and most likely won, let’s be honest). The jury is still out on the little guys. We can only hope that they come to the blue and silver light. All jokes aside, we appreciate all the wonderful aspects that make our employees who they are, and Ryan is no exception.
We believe at Spine Team Texas that happy employees are the key to all our success, and that is why we take great lengths to promote our team members beyond their specific role with us. Patient-facing roles do not include nights or weekends or being on-call, and we offer eight paid holidays and PTO accrual starting from day one of employment. The longer you remain employed with Spine Team Texas, the more PTO you can store and roll over to ensuing years. Fostering honorable workplace standards, Spine Team Texas employees are quick to praise our dedication to employee satisfaction. If you are looking for better balance in your life, we invite you to review our available roles and apply today!
