March 2022
Doctors’ Day 2022
Page 8
DREAMS DO COME TRUE New orthopedic surgeon finds life long home in Alexander City
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer Dr. Steven Baker achieved many goals as he began his orthopedics practice at Russell Medical back in August. “It is a dream come true,” Baker said. “I always wanted to live on the lake and I always wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. Now I get to live out both of those dreams. Baker already knew Lake Martin and Baker’s wife’s family is nearby. “I grew up coming here as a kid,” Baker said. “My great grandfather and his two brothers had a cabin here. Every third weekend was my grandad’s weekend. Every third weekend we came down here. I met my wife and she is from Tallassee. It was my second home in the summer and very close to her hometown. It’s the best of both worlds.” Russell Medical also gives Baker a chance to be more than just a doctor who only works on knees, hips, or shoulders. “I love Alexander City because it gives me the opportunity to be a true general orthopedist,” Baker said. “I get to see a little bit of everything. If you go to a big city you specialize, the knee guy, the shoulder guy. I like to take care of the whole patient. That is fun for me. It truly is general orthopedics.” Baker has been at Russell Medical for nearly eight months and stays booked with a wide range of patients and issues. “I have seen a four year old who fell and broke her arm and put her in a cast,” Baker said. I have seen local high school athletes who I’ve fixed ACLs to hip and knee replacements. We do it all here at Russell Medical.” While Alexander City may seem small, it doesn’t mean Baker is limited in what he can do for his orthopedic patients. Russell Medical has helped Baker in the operating room offer the newest in robotic surgery found in the bigger cities. “We are trying to bring some of that technology you would see in Atlanta or Birmingham to right here in our hometown,” Baker said. “For a patient it means they get a knee that is more specific and precisely placed for their anatomy. The robot helps us get the position of the components within half a millimeter and half degree of perfection.” The robot is a tool that helps Baker better serve his patients. “It means faster recovery, and better outcomes with more success and patient satisfaction,” Baker said. Baker is trained and skilled at handling equipment in his exam rooms and operating rooms but he is no stranger to the patient side of the orthopedics. He has seen greater quality of life after orthopedic issues and injuries have been treated for family members and himself. “My dad had a clubfoot and was able to get treated and have a normal life,” Baker said. “He was a manual laborer and did everything.” Baker has had his own orthopedic injuries and it helps him relate to patients as they come to seek his help. “I have had both my knees, my shoulder and my hand all operated on, so I have been a patient before,” Baker said. “It’s really funny. I can talk to patients about what their scar will look like and show them. “I have been on the patient and family side of orthopedics for a long time and now the physician side.” Baker has seen what can happen when orthopedic issues are left unaddressed due to lack of access to medical care. It pushed Baker to seek out a career in
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Dr. Steven Baker is the newest orthopedic surgeon at Russell Medical.
Submitted / The Outlook
Dr. Steven Baker is the newest orthopedic surgeon at Russell Medical.
the medical world. “I went to an orphanage on this mission trip as a teenager and saw the kids with orthopedic issues that didn’t get treated and left them neglected,” Baker said. “I saw the contrast of the treatment my dad got and what these children got. It inspired me to look to medicine and orthopedics in particular to be my calling.”
Baker doesn’t see himself anywhere but Alexander City for a long time. “If I left my wife would be really mad at me,” Baker said. “I love it here. We just bought a house here. We love the lake. My wife’s family is close by. We want to be here forever.”
