My name is Scott Frederick Stieber. I am a retired 70 year old physician disabled by ALS. I was diagnosed in October 2011 and was fortunate to be diagnosed with the slower progressing Limb-onset type. I was in the confusing grip of the disease until I found yoga in 2014 during rehabilitation recovering from a hip fracture. A hidden blessing of that unfortunate accident, yoga provided insight into my disease process and revealed a pathway to reconnect to the muscles of my core. Now, 8 years later, I have rehabilitated the muscles of my core and, with them, maintained my breathing. I feel like I have been given a second chance in life. I practice 2-3 hours daily and my practice serves as the foundation for the rest of each day. I haven’t missed a day in months!

I am a native of Wisconsin. After attending medical school at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, I pursued a residency in Anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a fellowship in Cardiac Anesthesia at Emory University. After I completed my fellowship in 1985, I joined a young Cardiac Surgery program at the Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania under the direction of Lawrence I. Bonchek, M.D.

I enjoyed a 27 year career and helped Lancaster General Hospital achieve its reputation as one of the top hospitals in the state. During that career, I was the founding physician of our Pre-Anesthesia Clinic and served as its Medical Director from 1992-2003. I was also involved in the creation of the Health Campus Surgical Center (HCSC) and served as its Medical Director from 1993-2010. After I retired, I received the Excellence in Medicine Award from the Lancaster General Foundation in 2013 and the Physician Achievement Award from the Lancaster General Medical/Dental Staff in 2014. It is awarded for “exemplary commitment to the patient experience (care quality and safety and patient satisfaction), community health, and health care cost efficiency.”

I also had the privilege to represent my profession and my country on three foreign medical missions. In 1990, Dr. Bonchek, Craig Gassmann, CCP and I led a cardiac surgical team from the Lancaster General Hospital to the All India Institute in Delhi to demonstrate our comprehensive approach to the Cardiac Surgical patient. In 2003, I was a member of an Operation Smile surgical team that travelled to Trujillo, Peru to treat pediatric patients with Cleft lip and Palate deformities. In 2005, I was a member of a team from my training institution, UNC-Chapel Hill, who travelled to Jinotega, Nicaragua to care for pediatric and adult patients with orthopedic issues.

I was fortunate to find a profession and specialty that fit my intrinsic personal needs. I loved the practice of medicine. It provided the perfect outlet for my natural empathy and compassion. These gifts make the practice of medicine so much more meaningful and enjoyable. Anesthesia is a frightening black box to most people. It is shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories abound. I believe our job as physicians is to educate our patients. Education is an anxiolytic to the surgical patient. There is no business in the world where the opportunity for customer service is greater. I believe that consistent, orchestrated education to create expectations which are then met is the form this customer service should take. As Medical Director of the HCSC, I was able to create such a model. It was both personally and professionally gratifying to lead a team that cared for people in this manner.