Sunday - September 5, 2010
Today's News
Dr. Baker-Palmer Opens Practice at New LHN Facility in NH
Rebecca Baker-Palmer, MD opened her physician's practice this past Monday at the new Lutheran Health Network facility in New Haven Plaza. A graduate of Heritage High School, Dr. Baker-Palmer is excited to be returning to the area where she grew up. Her blue-collar parents still live in nearby Monroeville.
“My dad sold his Dyna Glide [motorcycle] to help pay for college,” says Dr. Baker-Palmer, holding her caffeinated lifeline in a silver thermos. “I never thought about going into medicine when I was growing up. I’m from a blue collar family—not much to dream about.”
Dr. Baker-Palmer dreamt anyway and decided to pursue a career in nursing at Indiana University in Bloomington. Her advisor shortly realized her potential to become more than a nurse and called her in to discuss changing her major.
“I was thinking ‘Oh, no!’ and expecting the worst,” Dr. Baker-Palmer says laughing. “Instead it was suggested that I become a doctor. I knew I wanted to be in health care; I just needed to make sure where, but I was scared to tell my dad I was changing my major.”
In an effort to discover her field in health care, Dr. Baker-Palmer shadowed doctors in different fields. After observing an obstetrician, she was sure she wanted to deliver babies. Life, however, had other ideas.
“I then worked with Dr. [Don] Giant,” Dr. Baker-Palmer reveals, who is also a member of Brooklyn Medical Associates. “From him, I realized that I could do it all. I could care for everyone and still deliver babies. He is a good man, a good role model.”
From that moment on, Dr. Baker-Palmer knew she wanted to become a family physician so she could care for people of all ages and both genders. After her years of schooling and her residency, Dr. Baker-Palmer is now cleared to practice on her own. A talented, intelligent doctor, she is able to provide an array of services to her patients: pre-natal care, obstetrics, post-partum care, pediatrics, preventative medicine, and minor office surgery (stitches, mole removal).
“My practice serves all ages and both genders,” says Dr. Baker-Palmer flipping open the thermos top for more coffee. “I have a passion for women and children’s health care.”
In addition to being in the capable hands of the doctor, new patients also reap the benefits of being a part of the Lutheran Health Network and their new facility.
“I really think the patients benefit the most from this opportunity,” Dr. Baker-Palmer states. “Some specialists will come out here. It will be more convenient for our patients. It’s really remarkable all the medical services we have for a city the size of Fort Wayne and New Haven.”
With the excitement of her practice taking off and being on the cover of Fort Wayne Medicine Quarterly this October for an article she wrote during her residency researching the implications of pregnant women addicted to narcotics, Dr. Baker-Palmer is still remarkably grounded to the things that mean the most to her: family and patients.
“I really spend my time at home with my family and kids,” says the mother of a daughter who is four and a son who is a year and a half. “Though I sometimes get called away, I still focus on family while we’re together. If approached right, any sector of the medical field can be family-friendly.”
While at work, Dr. Baker-Palmer chooses to focus on the quality care of her patients by ensuring they all know they’re important.
“I think you have to find a good balance,” she says, pausing to introduce her receptionist who is also her mother-in-law. “There needs to be a balance financially and personally. You can’t compromise your values.”
While the physician’s office is the first to open doors at the new LHN facility, many other amenities will be opening soon to aid new and current patients. In early September, St. Joseph Imaging, Fort Wayne Orthopedics, and radiology will open. More will come in late September as well. While waiting for the rest of the facility to develop, Dr. Baker-Palmer is accepting new patients and filling appointments. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Dr. Baker-Palmer’s office at 469-6201. Dr. Baker-Palmer (R) and mother-in-law pictured above.
Photos HERITAGE vs. New Haven, August 20, 2010... click here
The Journal Gazette
Ten-year-old Samantha Pflueger and her father, Steve, start the school year with their own unique concerns. Samantha is wondering about her spell bowl prospects and whether her classmates will be “weird or not.” Steve, a Monroeville resident, is more worried about whether his daughter’s school will be open next fall. As the Pfluegers and others are painfully aware, today could be the final first day for some schools in East Allen County Schools. Warning of an impending financial crisis, Superintendent Karyle Green has urged the school board to vote in favor of redesigning the district in October. The various options put together by her team include closing, transforming and building certain schools – plans she said would save the district $6 million to $8 million in operating costs. As the board considers options, several East Allen communities have mobilized to fight for their schools. New Haven Mayor Terry McDonald has proposed a plan that would keep New Haven’s school buildings open. Hoagland has lobbied against the closure of its elementary school as well. Monroeville residents have been the most outspoken, arguing that the loss of their elementary school will mean the end of their town. Residents have attended school board meetings and focus groups and invited board members to their school, which has one of the lowest enrollments in the district. Pflueger, who went to Monroeville Elementary himself, said he thinks the school is being unfairly targeted for closure. Years of talk about closing it, he said, has led to fewer families wanting to move to the town. “It makes it awful difficult to build a town when they keep saying, ‘We’re going to close your school,’ ” he said. “The reason (school closure) will be the death of the town is because no one young who has children will want to move here.”
‘Emotional subject’
Although Monroeville has been the most vocal community, the entire district will be affected by the board’s final plan. Among the five options proposed by Green’s team are closing all five of the district’s high schools and building a single new high school, and keeping all the high schools and turning Paul Harding High into a magnet school. Under all options, Monroeville and New Haven elementaries would be closed. Green has made it a point to solicit feedback from the public and has said she hopes a final plan will be a mix of the various options. She said she realizes the board has a difficult task ahead of it, but she is confident the board can agree on a final proposal. “The redistricting of any school across our state and nation is an extremely emotional subject,” she said. “People have distinct ties to schools. But I think that it’s clear that the district needs to do something to secure its financial situation and to create programs that are going to meet the needs of our kids.” If the board opts not to close any schools in the next 10 years, Green estimated the district’s elementary schools would be at 66 percent capacity in 2020. Board President Janice Witte, who has spent the past few months meeting with community members to get their feedback, said the time has been difficult. At several school board meeting, she and other board members have heard impassioned arguments against school closures. “Ten years ago I got divorced, and that was the most horrible thing that had ever happened in my life,” she said. “This is just as stressful. You look at these people and you want to do the best thing for these kids and the students. But you’re thinking, ‘Will this really destroy the community?’ ” Pflueger and other Monroeville residents have no doubt that closing their school will do just that. “The school is where you have your carnivals, your fish fries, your basketball games and your craft shows,” said Ron Walters, a pastor and anti-closure advocate whose three children attended Monroeville. “The school is where you go to talk to your teacher about problems you might be having with your children. It’s the center, quite frankly, of social activity.”
EACS Central Office Welcomes New Administrators
Mrs. Marilyn Hissong, Mr. William Diehl and Mr. Chris Hissong are certainly not new faces to the EACS district. Combined, they have served our students in several different capacities well over 65 years. These EACS Administrators will join the 
Superintendent's team and will work closely with all schools within the district.
Mrs. Hissong is a graduate of Woodlan High School. She began working in the EACS district in 1993 as a teacher at Village Elementary. She became principal at Monroeville Elementary in 1998 and reassigned as principal of Highland Terrace Elementary in 2002. In 2008 she became principal of Hoagland Elementary and in 2009 she was selected to be coordinator of the Curriculum Writing Project. She was recently selected as Director of Curriculum.
"My most exciting moment is when I "looped" with a class from grades 3 - 5 while teaching at Village Elementary. Watching this class graduate from high school was a very proud moment. I am thrilled that I played a part in their education. Many of them stay in contact with me yet today.”
Mr. William Diehl has served as a teacher and assistant principal at New Haven Middle School for six years and recently was the principal at Leo Elementary for the past twelve years. Mr. Diehl is a Certified Public Accountant and business owner. 
Mr. Diehl was recently named Director of Accountability.
"I absolutely love teaching and enjoyed introducing middle school students to science experimentation. As an administrator, my most exciting moment was finding out Leo Elementary had made top ten in the state fulfilling a three year goal set with the teachers in the first year. It was equally as exciting to return to the top ten in my last year. What a ride!”
Mr. Chris Hissong is a 1974 graduate of Woodlan High School. He has taught and coached at Paul Harding and New Haven High School. He was the assistant principal of New Haven Middle School and became principal in 1994. He recently held the position of principal at Heritage Junior Senior High School from 2000 to 
2010. He was recently named Executive Director of School Management.
"My most exciting educational moments have been watching students find success in the classrooms and in the extracurricular venues. My son pitching in the IHSAA State Finals at Victory Field and the Semi-state finals at Lafayette against the number one ranked team in the state, State marching band performances in the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium, Winterguard being the 2010 IHSCGA State Champions, the volleyball team playing in the IHSAA State semi-finals, students in the classroom that didn't believe they could do something lighting up with excitement as they figured out how to do it and watching students find their goal in life and seemingly grow up overnight.”
