ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES OFFERED AT BIGFORK VALLEY

When Dr. Dan Baker first came to Grand Rapids to interview with the Northern Pines Orthopaedic Clinic, he and his wife Nichole thought “This is the place!”

The northwoods had been their destination for their free time while Dr. Baker was completing his medical training at the University of Minnesota. Now it would be their home.

“We are just absolutely thrilled to be here,” he said. “It’s a privilege for me to have the opportunity to do what I do in a place like this.”

The couple found a house in the Marcell area, and wondered whether nearby Bigfork Valley Hospital might also be interested in offering orthopedic services.

The timing couldn’t have been better. Bigfork Valley had already written a grant to develop just this opportunity for its patients.

“Adding this important medical specialty has been part of our vision for the future,” explained CEO Dan Odegaard. “It will benefit our community, and especially our seniors who will be able to recuperate in familiar surroundings.”

Dr. Baker is already doing some procedures in Bigfork thanks to new equipment like the C-arm and a fracture table recently obtained by the hospital. The C-arm is an X-ray unit that can be moved right to the operating table and used to confirm placement of bones or added material like plates and screws.

Amy Youngkin (on table) and Brenda Schmitz demonstrate the new C-Arm equipment. The work station to the right allows the doctor to follow his work through the image from the X-ray.

Major surgeries like total hip replacements are currently done in Grand Rapids, but patients can return to recover in familiar surroundings at Bigfork Valley after a few days. When the new hospital addition is completed, the upgraded surgical suites will allow more complicated surgeries to be done locally.

Those surgeries might be less invasive than those done in the past. Up to half of orthopedic surgeries are now arthroscopic, Dr. Baker said, where tiny cameras and instruments are inserted through two or three small cuts. Knee, shoulder and carpal tunnel surgeries all may use this method.

Knees to hips, shoulders to wrists. An orthopedic surgeon may see a wide variety of problems from simple fractures to total joint replacements. The specialty requires a five year residency after four years of medical school. And medical school follows a four year college degree.

It’s a long education, and a long way from the Philippines. Dr. Baker was raised in the Pacific island country where his parents were missionaries and still live. He met his wife, Nichole, when she was in college in Missouri, and later they came to the Twin Cities where he pursued a degree in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota. Going on to medical school at the U of M, he was undecided about a specialty until he trained with a surgeon for the Minnesota Twins. It proved fascinating, and he remained interested in sports medicine, serving as team doctor for the Minnesota Golden Gopher women’s hockey team.

His interest in outdoor recreation brought him to a rural location, and it is a lifestyle that he relishes. It’s also a lifestyle that he recognizes gives him a different perspective than that of an urban surgeon. It allows him to “take care of my neighbor and my neighbor’s friends and not treat just names and numbers,” he pointed out.

“I’ve never felt so much at home,” Dr. Baker said. “And I’ve only been here a few months.”

Dr. Baker holds surgeries and clinic hours at Bigfork Valley Hospital on Tuesdays. No referral is necessary. Appointments can be made by calling the hospital at (218) 743-4491 or the Northern Pines Orthopaedic Clinic in Grand Rapids at (218) 326-6677.