Mountain Hawk Heroes: Track and Field Alum Tara Santoroski Hood
12/16/2020 10:32:00 AM | Women's Track and Field, Support, Features, Flight 45, Intellectual Development
Every Wednesday, Lehigh Athletics, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health is proud to recognize a Mountain Hawk Hero - someone associated with Lehigh Athletics who is making a difference in the medical field. We continue today with track and field alum Tara Santoroski Hood '00.
Previous Mountain Hawk Heroes
December 9: Mercedes Grubb (Field Hockey Alum)
December 2: Halie Carter (Track and Field Alum)
November 25: Sarah Cassidy (Track and Field Alum)
November 18: Shannon Alejandro (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 11: Simon Voorhees (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 4: Michael Metzger (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
October 28: Jen (Lance) Sikorski (Rowing Alum)
October 21: Shannon Wright (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
October 14: Darren Saks (Men's Soccer Alum)
October 7: Jenny Warner Southard (Track and Field Alum)
September 30: Taylor Wise (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 23: Matt Christman (Track and Field Alum)
September 16: Steph Fratoni (Field Hockey Alum)
September 9: Mike Price (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 2: Yasmin Deliz (Track and Field Alum)
August 26: Evan Guerrero (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
August 19: Ross Biggs (Baseball Alum)
August 12: Cynthia Izuno Macri (Soccer Alum)
August 5: Susan Westman (Rowing Student-Athlete)
July 29: Megan Hetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 22: Lexi Martins (Women's Basketball Alum)
July 15: Nii Daako-Darko (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 8: Ali Linsk Butash (Softball Alum)
July 1: Kimberly Scotto-Wetzel & Jonathan Wetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alums)
June 24: Robert Bonow (Men's Basketball Alum)
June 17: Morgan Decker (Softball Alum)
June 10: Jim Guzzo (Former Quarterback)
June 3: Amina Affini (Women's Basketball Alum)
May 27: Natalie Krane (Women's Soccer Alum)
May 20: Tricia Klein (Women's Golf Assistant Coach)
By: Jeremy Clausen, Lehigh Sports Communications
After graduating Lehigh, Tara Santoroski Hood went into research, but she realized it wasn't for her.
"What I really wanted to do was work with people, be in medicine and help the community," said the former Patriot League Champion and member of the Patriot League's All-Decade track and field team. "I was in my mid 20s when I decided I would get my applications together for medical school."
Today, Hood is an OB-GYN, obstetrician gynecologist at ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware.
"A lot of my day is spent doing obstetrics, delivering babies and taking care of women in their prenatal care during their pregnancy," she said. "I also perform general gynecology, which is routine women's health care."
Even though Hood's road to medicine wasn't a straight path, it had been in the back of her mind for a while.
"Ever since high school, it was something I always thought might be interesting," said Hood, who majored in biology. "When working in a lab (post-Lehigh), I realized research without a patient component wasn't for me. I really wanted to do hands-on care and work with people. I was determined to do whatever I needed to do to get into medical school."
One specific moment while doing research opened Hood's eyes to practicing medicine.
"I was doing data analysis with one of the studies I was working on," she said. "I talked to a nurse, who said there were twins in the study. The conversation led to a heartfelt story.
"I thought… what am I doing? Here was the nurse dealing directly with patients and babies. That sounded like what I needed to be doing."
From there, Hood went on to attend the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, eventually finishing her residency at Lankenau Hospital on Philadelphia's Main Line in 2013 (and she's been practicing ever since).
In Hood's current role, she typically spends three days per week in the office, then one or two days per week in the hospital.
"Office days are typically made up of routine care," she said. "Rarely do you have an emergency type of situation. Hospital days can consist of anything from delivering babies with no health issues to mothers requiring emergency surgery due to fetal distress or bleeding. With OB, you can go from having a pretty routine day to a life-threatening emergency very quickly."
As a former student-athlete, Hood is used to pressure situations (although pressure in her current role are at a much higher level).
"It's important to remain calm in emergency situations," she said. "People get worried. Families are bringing a new baby into the world. They want everything to be perfect. Trying to calm a patient and try and make it as perfect as can be, even when things aren't going the right way, is always a challenge."
As the high achiever she is, Hood has always strived for perfection, learning so much from her student-athlete experience along the way.
"Obviously, track teaches persistence," she said. "Being a student-athlete is a lot of work. The structure and rigor helped me throughout my schooling and in my everyday medical practice. Just that idea of persistence and never giving up always comes into play. And not letting your nerves get the best of you."
Another way Lehigh helped was being part of a large team.
"It's easy in college to fall into one group of students," said Hood. "But with track and field, you're exposed to a whole gamut of people. Track is men and women competing together; you're exposed to a more diverse group. You're interacting with engineers, business majors and other students throughout the university."
Learning how to work with so many people is only helping Hood in her job today in what is very much a team environment.
"At any given time, there are usually about four or five doctors working on a shift," she said. "I'm in charge of my patients and other doctors are in charge of their patients. But at the same time, we're all in this together.
"If an emergency comes up, we help each other," Hood continued. "You immediately jump in and ask, what can I do to assist my colleague to make sure everyone's getting the care they need and we're all working as a team?
"I definitely find when I'm at the hospital, there's an incredibly strong team dynamic of support."
The biggest of emergencies, a once-in-a-century global pandemic, has affected Hood's role. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has actually reinforced why she got into OB-GYN in the first place.
The people.
"Once I decided I wanted to go the OB-GYN route, I felt strongly at that time in my life that women weren't being taken care of and taken seriously from a health standpoint," said Hood. "I thought there was a need for women to be there for other women."
Hood has always been there for her patients, but especially during the pandemic.
"Women aren't getting as much support," she said. "Hospitals don't allow them to have more than one visitor at a time. For a while, their spouses weren't allowed to come to their visits with them. It meant that women needed more regular guidance and support. Not just medically, but also someone there who's caring and listening because it's scary going into something like this, feeling on their own."
"Patients were feeling a lot more vulnerable and felt even more of a need for someone who cared."
Because she cares, Hood couldn't be happier she made the switch to medicine.
"You're helping people, and in times when they really need the support," she said. "That is very rewarding on a daily basis.
"I get to be part of people's most important days of their lives, bringing in new life to their world," Hood continued. "It's exciting and rewarding.
"Everyone remembers the day their child is born and I feel privileged to be part of it."
Previous Mountain Hawk Heroes
December 9: Mercedes Grubb (Field Hockey Alum)
December 2: Halie Carter (Track and Field Alum)
November 25: Sarah Cassidy (Track and Field Alum)
November 18: Shannon Alejandro (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 11: Simon Voorhees (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
November 4: Michael Metzger (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
October 28: Jen (Lance) Sikorski (Rowing Alum)
October 21: Shannon Wright (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
October 14: Darren Saks (Men's Soccer Alum)
October 7: Jenny Warner Southard (Track and Field Alum)
September 30: Taylor Wise (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 23: Matt Christman (Track and Field Alum)
September 16: Steph Fratoni (Field Hockey Alum)
September 9: Mike Price (Swimming and Diving Alum)
September 2: Yasmin Deliz (Track and Field Alum)
August 26: Evan Guerrero (Men's Lacrosse Alum)
August 19: Ross Biggs (Baseball Alum)
August 12: Cynthia Izuno Macri (Soccer Alum)
August 5: Susan Westman (Rowing Student-Athlete)
July 29: Megan Hetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 22: Lexi Martins (Women's Basketball Alum)
July 15: Nii Daako-Darko (Track and Field/Cross Country Alum)
July 8: Ali Linsk Butash (Softball Alum)
July 1: Kimberly Scotto-Wetzel & Jonathan Wetzel (Track and Field/Cross Country Alums)
June 24: Robert Bonow (Men's Basketball Alum)
June 17: Morgan Decker (Softball Alum)
June 10: Jim Guzzo (Former Quarterback)
June 3: Amina Affini (Women's Basketball Alum)
May 27: Natalie Krane (Women's Soccer Alum)
May 20: Tricia Klein (Women's Golf Assistant Coach)
By: Jeremy Clausen, Lehigh Sports Communications
After graduating Lehigh, Tara Santoroski Hood went into research, but she realized it wasn't for her.
"What I really wanted to do was work with people, be in medicine and help the community," said the former Patriot League Champion and member of the Patriot League's All-Decade track and field team. "I was in my mid 20s when I decided I would get my applications together for medical school."
Today, Hood is an OB-GYN, obstetrician gynecologist at ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware.
"A lot of my day is spent doing obstetrics, delivering babies and taking care of women in their prenatal care during their pregnancy," she said. "I also perform general gynecology, which is routine women's health care."
Even though Hood's road to medicine wasn't a straight path, it had been in the back of her mind for a while.
"Ever since high school, it was something I always thought might be interesting," said Hood, who majored in biology. "When working in a lab (post-Lehigh), I realized research without a patient component wasn't for me. I really wanted to do hands-on care and work with people. I was determined to do whatever I needed to do to get into medical school."
One specific moment while doing research opened Hood's eyes to practicing medicine.
"I was doing data analysis with one of the studies I was working on," she said. "I talked to a nurse, who said there were twins in the study. The conversation led to a heartfelt story.
"I thought… what am I doing? Here was the nurse dealing directly with patients and babies. That sounded like what I needed to be doing."
From there, Hood went on to attend the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, eventually finishing her residency at Lankenau Hospital on Philadelphia's Main Line in 2013 (and she's been practicing ever since).
In Hood's current role, she typically spends three days per week in the office, then one or two days per week in the hospital.
"Office days are typically made up of routine care," she said. "Rarely do you have an emergency type of situation. Hospital days can consist of anything from delivering babies with no health issues to mothers requiring emergency surgery due to fetal distress or bleeding. With OB, you can go from having a pretty routine day to a life-threatening emergency very quickly."
As a former student-athlete, Hood is used to pressure situations (although pressure in her current role are at a much higher level).
"It's important to remain calm in emergency situations," she said. "People get worried. Families are bringing a new baby into the world. They want everything to be perfect. Trying to calm a patient and try and make it as perfect as can be, even when things aren't going the right way, is always a challenge."
As the high achiever she is, Hood has always strived for perfection, learning so much from her student-athlete experience along the way.
"Obviously, track teaches persistence," she said. "Being a student-athlete is a lot of work. The structure and rigor helped me throughout my schooling and in my everyday medical practice. Just that idea of persistence and never giving up always comes into play. And not letting your nerves get the best of you."
Another way Lehigh helped was being part of a large team.
"It's easy in college to fall into one group of students," said Hood. "But with track and field, you're exposed to a whole gamut of people. Track is men and women competing together; you're exposed to a more diverse group. You're interacting with engineers, business majors and other students throughout the university."
Learning how to work with so many people is only helping Hood in her job today in what is very much a team environment.
"At any given time, there are usually about four or five doctors working on a shift," she said. "I'm in charge of my patients and other doctors are in charge of their patients. But at the same time, we're all in this together.
"If an emergency comes up, we help each other," Hood continued. "You immediately jump in and ask, what can I do to assist my colleague to make sure everyone's getting the care they need and we're all working as a team?
"I definitely find when I'm at the hospital, there's an incredibly strong team dynamic of support."
The biggest of emergencies, a once-in-a-century global pandemic, has affected Hood's role. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has actually reinforced why she got into OB-GYN in the first place.
The people.
"Once I decided I wanted to go the OB-GYN route, I felt strongly at that time in my life that women weren't being taken care of and taken seriously from a health standpoint," said Hood. "I thought there was a need for women to be there for other women."
Hood has always been there for her patients, but especially during the pandemic.
"Women aren't getting as much support," she said. "Hospitals don't allow them to have more than one visitor at a time. For a while, their spouses weren't allowed to come to their visits with them. It meant that women needed more regular guidance and support. Not just medically, but also someone there who's caring and listening because it's scary going into something like this, feeling on their own."
"Patients were feeling a lot more vulnerable and felt even more of a need for someone who cared."
Because she cares, Hood couldn't be happier she made the switch to medicine.
"You're helping people, and in times when they really need the support," she said. "That is very rewarding on a daily basis.
"I get to be part of people's most important days of their lives, bringing in new life to their world," Hood continued. "It's exciting and rewarding.
"Everyone remembers the day their child is born and I feel privileged to be part of it."
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