Annual meeting headlines Dr. Dan Baker

“I feel fortunate to absolutely love what I do,” said Dr. Baker, speaking at the Bigfork Valley annual meeting on May 21. But it was a long and interesting road to find his calling as an orthopaedic surgeon in a rural community.

Adopted into a missionary family, Baker spent his childhood in a remote area of the Philippines. A long circuitous journey brought him to the University of Minnesota where he obtained his degree in Biochemistry. He planned on research as a career until a classmate encouraged him to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) with him. His friend didn’t fare so well, Baker did. Baker who was still headed down the research pathway, as an aside applied for medical school at the University of Minnesota and was accepted. He began medical school with the intention of practicing Family Practice medicine in a rural setting but soon realized that it wasn’t a job he was going to “love” to do and considered returning to research.

A short time into his medical school education Baker spent a day with an acquaintance, the orthopaedic surgeon for the Minnesota Twins, and came home to tell his wife Nichole – “I know what I want to do!”

Baker spent the next year in medical school shadowing this orthopaedist in his free time and then entered the University of Minnesota Orthopaedic Residency training program. Not wanting to leave Minnesota, Baker had considered once again returning to a research career if not accepted to this highly competitive program with only 6 applicants accepted a year.

Dan and Nichole Baker had spent most of their free time up in the northwoods, and when approached by the Northern Pines Orthopaedic group in Grand Rapids they knew they had found the perfect fit. Bigfork Valley hospital reminded Nichole of her hometown hospital and she encouraged Baker to provide some services locally. He began seeing patients a half day every other week and soon Bigfork and Baker realized they were a perfect fit. Now Baker spends 2-3 days a week here in Bigfork to see patients who come as far as Bemidji, International Falls and Remer. He performs surgery at two new surgery centers: at Bigfork Valley and Lakewood Surgery Center in Grand Rapids.

His practice covers “hair to toes” orthopaedic management – muscles, tendons, joints, fractures, arthroscopy, etc. “The fit here in Bigfork is absolutely unbelievable,” he said. “The family approach to care is unique” and his patients are amazed at their experiences here. Now he has patients that drive 90 minutes and say “I need my knee replaced and I want it d,one in Bigfork.” Word has spread about the hospital rooms overlooking the river, the excellent support staff, attentive doctors, and rehab facilities just down the hall, all of which make it a unique place to recover.

Patients are younger and more active these days and have higher expectations of their care, said Baker. Bigfork has met the needs of his patients far and beyond his expectations, he said, pointing out that word spreads fast about a hospital setting where patients experience consistent care with a personal touch.

Bigfork CEO Dan Odegaard also spoke about the Surgery Center at the meeting as he recapped the year 2006. Opening in February, the Surgery Center was one part of a new facility that represented a huge achievement and beautiful space, he said. In fact, the board made a visionary decision to complete a second operating room as well as including state of the art equipment to support an optometry room in the specialty clinic. He also touched on the Imaging Department’s new CT scanner and transition into a filmless picture archiving and communications system (PACS).

Last year the hospital also completed the development of statements of its mission and values. Continuing its emphasis on quality, the board authorized and participated in a quality compliance committee. It has also realized a commitment to the community; offering quality jobs, helping build infrastructure and supporting care where there is a monetary need.

There is a sense of excitement about the future; there are an abundance of ideas bubbling up, said Odegaard, and the facility is taking those ideas and putting them into action.