Baptist Health Floyd: a point of pride

Baptist Health Floyd is more than just a place where southern Indiana goes for healthcare. It’s a central part of the community and a point of pride for the people who live there. Orthopedic surgeon Kris Abeln, MD, has seen that for the better part a decade, treating patients throughout the week and working with athletes on the sidelines of high school ball games each weekend.

“That pride for the hospital, I haven’t seen anywhere else,” says Dr. Abeln, who has worked in hospital systems from Chicago to Los Angeles.

That’s why Dr. Abeln is such a big fan of the Baptist Health Foundation Floyd and its focused mission to bring better and more comprehensive healthcare for the people who are so proud to be its patients, providers and supporters.

“The Foundation lets us be more strategic in our impact, really focusing on what the core mission is of the hospital,” says Dr. Abeln. “We want to reach the community through the hospital. We can be much more efficient... when we can say ‘what are the goals, what are we missing and how does the Foundation fit in to that.’”

With help from donors, Baptist Health Floyd can provide more service lines and recruit more physicians to provide specialized care so that southern Indiana residents don’t have to travel across the river – or further – for treatment. Donor support has helped to open new surgical facilities, but without surgeons who specialize in colorectal and breast cancer, those patients still have to travel. Dr. Abeln hopes to see a model that he’s seen at other notable institutions where, for instance, a cancer patient can see their radiation oncologist, medical oncologist and surgeon all in one building on the same day.  

“That benefits the patient going through a hard time, and it’s also better medicine,” he says. “When there are conversations amongst physicians to monitor a tumor or something like that – being in the same hallway or having meetings in the same system creates a better line of communication. It’s better care for the patient as well as a better experience for the patient, and we want to offer that model in our region.”

Dr. Abeln is not just a healthcare provider but a donor himself. He and his wife, Tonya, committed financial support to the Baptist Health Louisville NICU expansion – a cause near to the hearts after the loving care their oldest son, now 9, received care for the first eight weeks of his life. Helping other new parents to have that quality care close to home was rewarding, he says, and he’s excited to find a way to help Baptist Health Floyd provide, too.