More than a decade ago, Dr. Randy Christensen, a pediatrician at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital, began working out of his blue 38-foot Winnebago van.
Along with his wife Jan, Christensen traveled throughout the central Phoenix area to provide health services to young families and homeless teens. Today, 11 people are a part of Christensen’s mobile team.
The local pediatrician spoke at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe Thursday night about his new memoir detailing his unique practice.
“He is a local hero with an unorthodox style and a very interesting story that’s on a national profile,” said Brandon Stout, marketing director for Changing Hands Bookstore.
The book, “Ask Me Why I Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them,” follows the stories of four patients known as the Valley’s “throwaway kids,” who have endured physical violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual violence and other barriers stacked against them.
“I had to write this story; I had to tell this story of the kids because they lost their voice along the way,” Christensen said. “I hope that everyone understands that.”
There is a bridge to cross between being monotonously stuck in a traumatic life and a life that’s peaceful and meaningful, he said. That’s what he hopes people take away from the book.
Christensen was named a “Hero Among Us” by People magazine and was highlighted on CNN as part of its “Local Heroes” series.
By 2009, Christensen worked fulltime from the van.
Each year the services have been available, the numbers of visits have greatly increased. Christensen said in 2010 there were more than 4,000 clinical visits, and in 2011 they are expected to have more than 5,000.
“Every decision I have ever made to spend more and more time in the van was a good decision for me,” Christensen said after the event.
Christensen and his team works alongside the Boys and Girls Club in Phoenix and other nonprofit organizations to create a collaborative “360 degree approach” to medical treatment. This approach addresses all of the issues each child has, rather than only treating one medical problem per teen.
“I was incredibly surprised,” said Kimberly Olsen, event host and bookseller for Changing Hands. “The audience was so communal, so he got to address the information from his book and services from all different sides, whether it was social, political, medical or personal.”
Changing Hands Bookstore is supporting Christensen’s efforts to change the community, Stout said.
“It’s good to refocus on the good things in life, like his services that are happening right in our backyard that a lot of people don’t know about,” Stout said.
Reach the reporter at ctetreau@asu.edu
