Sam Van Kirk – Delivering Babies, And A Commitment To Serve

Over his 20-year career as an MD/OBGYN, Sam Van Kirk has delivered upwards of four thousand babies at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, CA. As Sam introduces these little miracles to their parents, he remembers how life-changing the births of his own children were.
“Before my first son was born, I thought being an OB/GYN wouldn’t be fun,” Sam remembers. “But the birth of our son was a tremendous experience. Now I can’t imagine anything else I would want to do.”

Originally from Colorado, Sam Van Kirk moved to Redding in 2004, where he enjoys photography and backpacking in the great outdoors. Pamela Ikuta, an emergency medicine physician at Mercy Medical Center, has known Sam since he moved to Redding. Over the course of their long friendship, Pam has always admired Sam’s commitment to serve. “’Happy to help!’ is Sam’s standard byline,” Pam says.

Sam Van Kirk and his professional staff all pull together to provide for the community.

He wants patients to be safe and doctors to be happy

Pam explains the unpredictability of taking on-call emergency response work pushes many seasoned specialists to eventually opt out of this rigorous duty. Sam, however, continues to take calls and teach the family practice physician residents. This year he’s taken on the added responsibility of being Chief of Staff at the hospital. “He wants patients to be safe and doctors to be happy,” Pam says. “We all want that, but Sam walks the talk; he serves on the committees and makes things better, all with a great sense of humor and a smile.”
Despite his full hospital schedule and private practice, Sam intentionally makes time to spend with each of his three adult children; his wife, Wendy, and his many friends. He also looks for ways to engage and help in the community, from sponsoring causes to noticing needs and responding to them in unique ways. After the Carr Fire, for example, Sam and Wendy helped spearhead a project to renovate an abandoned house to provide for a family who had lost their home in the fire.
While his work itself benefits the community, his whole-hearted kindness and genuine care are what make Sam a positive change-maker in the North State. “When you talk with him on the phone, it sounds like he’s smiling,” Pam says, “And he is; that’s just our Sam.”

Q&A with Sam

NSP: What are some of the challenges and rewards of your work? 
Sam: It is magical to be there with people when they have their children. Even when it is 3 a.m., it is such a special thing to be able to tell folks, “Here’s your baby.” With gynecology, the vast majority of the time there’s a specific problem we can address with targeted medical and surgical strategies that can help people be where they want to be very quickly, and I enjoy that.
At the same time, working 24-36 hours at a time can be challenging. The residents at the hospital and my wife would probably tell you I drink too much caffeine; I would reluctantly have to agree with that assessment. Fortunately, I have wonderful colleagues who share the job of the night shift well so we can provide the best care we can to our community.

NSP: As a medical professional, how do you protect yourself from compassion fatigue?
Sam: There’s an old children’s story written by Tolstoy called “The Three Questions.” I read it to my kids most nights when they were a certain age. I still have a copy and my kids still quote it to me. The principles are basically, “Who are the most important people?” And the answer is, “The people that you’re with right now.” What is the most important time? The most important time is now. What is the most important thing to do? To be present and helpful with the people you’re with now. Those principles really resonate with me.
COVID-19 has been an especially draining experience, and there’s been so much unfortunate divisiveness. Here at Mercy Hospital, we’ve pulled together to provide for our community, but it’s been such a toll not just on our community and our nation as a whole. When I feel out of balance emotionally or physically fatigued or frustrated, if I can go back to those three simple questions, it’s much easier for me to regain my balance.

NSP: Short of becoming a doctor, how can people make a difference in their communities? 
Sam: I think being physically part of your community is a valuable way anyone can make a positive impact. When Wendy and I were looking to buy a house, we decided we wanted to be a part of our community and live in town instead of living out in the hills or something. We enjoy walking into downtown Redding for local events like the Ceremonial Steam Whistle celebration and the food truck park. Those sorts of opportunities to connect with our neighbors and community members has been good for me, and I think it’s good for our community. A big part of being emotionally present is being physically present.

The mission of our be the change column is to feature community members from the North State who are actively making a difference in community life. If you would like to nominate someone who is making a difference, please write to pn@northstateparent.com.