From a broken bone to a baby on the way, family physicians handle a variety of issues when it comes to medical care.
Dr. Michael Kilpatrick was one of those family physicians many would say grew up along with his patients.
After 40 years in the medical field caring for those in the community, the Seymour physician hung up his stethoscope on Friday and said goodbye to the many patients he has had over the years.
“It has passed by so fast. It’s hard to believe,” he said.
Kilpatrick said his 40 years in medicine have been a rewarding experience, as he was able to see many of his patients grow up along with him.
“It’s very true as a physician that your practice tends to age as you do,” he said. “The folks you started seeing when you were younger get older with you, and then eventually, you are seeing their children. They tend to stay with you.”
Kilpatrick was born in Evansville in 1954. His father was a manufacturing representative for industrial heating equipment and would often travel to where the business would take him.
Kilpatrick said they would move around quite a bit, and he wound up spending most of his childhood in New Castle. It was there when he decided he wanted to become a doctor.
“Ever since I could remember in my childhood, it’s just what I always wanted to do,” he said. “Doctors were always thought of in high regard for the great things they do, and I wanted to do the same.”
From New Castle, the family moved back to Evansville, where Kilpatrick finished high school and went off to college. He attended Wabash College, where he obtained his undergraduate degree.
Involved in the plays as an extracurricular activity, the theater stage is where he met the love of his life, Ingrid. While she attended the all-girls school, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Terre Haute, students at the two colleges came together to put on a play.
Their budding romance continued off stage, and the couple tied the knot while Kilpatrick was in his sophomore year of medical school at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Since then, the couple has celebrated 45 years of love together.
After graduating from medical school in 1980, he spent a three-year residency in family practice at what is now known as IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
Once the residency was completed, Kilpatrick and another colleague started their own practice in Princeton, a small city in Gibson County in the southwestern part of the state. It’s similar to the one he has lived in for many years now.
Kilpatrick said a day he will never forget was when he received his first patient who was suffering from a life-threatening injury.
At the time, he had just opened his practice and the facility did not have full-time emergency room coverage, so many physicians would have to be on call in case of an emergency. His first day, he was on call.
After being called in about this patient’s severe injury and assessing the situation, Kilpatrick made the call to have the patient transported to a neurosurgeon, where they would have more resources to better treat his condition.
“We didn’t have the many resources we do now, and I knew he needed immediate attention,” he said.
Unfortunately, the patient died, and Kilpatrick quickly wondered how the rest of his medical career would go.
“It was a hectic day, and it was unexpected for how I thought my practice would start out,” he said. “But as you can see, it didn’t turn out like that.”
Kilpatrick said time and experience have played a big part throughout his medical career. After his colleague left to join a larger practice in Evansville, Kilpatrick was on his own in solo practice before moving to Seymour in 1989.
Wanting a little more free time with his two children, Jason and Laura, he looked for a group practice to join.
Kilpatrick said many aspects of the medical field have changed over the years, including the scope of practice.
“When I came to Seymour, primary medical care was provided by family physicians because there were no OB/GYN physicians or pediatricians,” he said.
Kilpatrick said many physicians during that time would take care of inpatients at the hospital, people in the intensive care unit, people in nursing homes and the medical practice itself had a wide scope that has since narrowed throughout the years.
“It was a totally different time,” he said.
In the latter years of his practice, Kilpatrick dealt with outpatient adult medicine and had been with Schneck Primary Care for 34 of his 40 years.
Another aspect of the medical field that has changed is the advances in medicine.
“Diseases have changed a lot, as well, thanks to the advances in medicine,” he said. “The HIB vaccine has almost eliminated diseases like meningitis that we use to see very frequently.”
COVID-19 also changed many aspects of the medical field and how they operate, something Kilpatrick said he had never really experienced in his lifetime.
With changes from paper charting to all things digital, Kilpatrick had to roll with the punches as new advances in medical technology began to arise.
“CAT scans were just being developed when I was in training, and those were available when I went into practice, but MRI was a totally new technology that has been developed since I have been in practice,” he said.
Other aspects, such as surgical techniques and tools, also have drastically changed, Kilpatrick said.
He said family practice had always appealed to him because it requires dealing with patients on a more personal and frequent basis.
“When folks came to see you, you were their first initial contact to any medical problem,” he said. “I enjoyed the variety.”
While Kilpatrick focused on adult medicine in the later years of his practice, he also delivered many babies into the world.
“One of my patients came in for their last office visit before I retired and said, ‘I want to thank you for delivering three fine children for me,’” he said. “I have appreciated seeing the generations of families and the opportunity to become involved in the family that way.”
Besides providing medical treatment to many people in the community, Kilpatrick is heavily involved in the Jackson County Sertoma Club and enjoys being involved in the work it does for disadvantaged children.
“I love the work we do for Christmas Miracle every year, and we got a lot of community involvement now with the organization,” he said.
As Kilpatrick prepares to pack up his office, he said he has been appreciative of his patients who have treated him not only as their provider but as a friend.
“It has been a privilege to be trusted by my patients to provide their medical care,” he said. “I have always felt honored that they have allowed me to become involved with them and their families.”
A cowboy at heart, Kilpatrick said he plans to travel out west more in his retirement while enjoying other hobbies, such as target shooting, woodworking and spending more time with his five grandchildren.
Laura Adkins of Seymour said it is an emotional time to see her father retire from a career he has loved dearly, but she is excited for him because he can spend more time with family.
“He has always been someone I could depend on,” she said. “He is the smartest man I know.”
Adkins said growing up, her dad was a present, caring and supportive father, showing up to her tennis matches and other school events.
“I think as an adult, you see it more now than you did as a child, but his gentle guidance through life and always knowing that he was going to be there was really special to me,” she said.
Adkins said one of the many lessons her father taught her through life is that laughter is the best medicine.
“He loves helping people, and I hope he realizes just how much he has impacted people throughout the community,” she said. “It has never been a job for him. It’s just who he is.”
Adkins said one of the many memories she has with her father are the many hours of traveling out west and learning about the different states along the way. Adkins kept a book where she and her father would write down facts about each state during the long drives.
Through his love of helping people, Adkins said she tries to take that love into her teaching and encourage others to do their best.
Adkins said one thing she fondly remembers and will miss is seeing him come home with his doctor bag that carried the many tools he used to treat his patients.
“I encourage the folks that are thinking of entering the medical field to follow your heart, challenge yourself with new ideas and not be afraid to put your nose to the grindstone,” Kilpatrick said.