Get to Know David Hanscom, DO

Where did you study and practice medicine before joining AdventHealth?

I grew up in El Paso and went to medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, graduating in 2007. I did my residency in Emergency Medicine at Saint John Macomb Oakland Hospital in Michigan. When I returned home to Texas, I became the medical director at Plaza Medical Center (now Medical City Fort Worth). I’ve been in the Austin area since August 2022.

What are your goals for the AdventHealth Emergency Department?

As medical director, my job is to facilitate the physicians’ needs for getting the job done well. I also represent the department in hospital committees. My main goal, working alongside the nursing director, is to make the department run more efficiently and smoothly. Along with the nursing team, we’re changing our flow process, improving the way we triage patients and move them through the department. We’re doing what’s called a split flow model, where we move the high-acuity (very sick) patients to a different flow pathway than the low-acuity people. This allows us to move more people through the department and provide care a little bit more efficiently.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies?

I practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I like it because it’s problem-solving under extreme pressure. I also like to ride dirt bikes. There is a flow state to riding motorcycles and dirt bikes that’s similar to my work life. You have to get that kind of flow when the Emergency Department is really busy to handle things effectively.