LEXINGTON In August 2016, Elizabeth Hubbard, MD, joined Shriners Hospitals for Children – Lexington as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Hubbard joined the expert medical team at Lexington Shriners Hospital upon completing her fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, Texas.
“I love a variety of subspecialties in orthopedics but not enough that I would only want to do one particular type of surgery for my career. Pediatrics gives you the ability to still be a type of general orthopedist. I also love the patient population,” says Hubbard.
Areas of special interest to Hubbard include Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, limb length discrepancy, and scoliosis. “Everyone working at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Lexington is genuinely motivated to do the absolute best thing for the patients, regardless of cost or other constraints,” Hubbard says. “I love working in an environment where I know everyone around me cares as much for the patients and families as they would their own.”
Hubbard’s hometown is Newark, Del. She received an undergraduate degree in biology and health studies from Siena College and earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College. Hubbard completed her residency in orthopedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center.
What impressed me the most when I first interviewed at Lexington Shriners Hospital is the level of staff commitment,” says Hubbard. “A large percentage of the staff has been at the hospital for more than five years; many have been working there for 10 to 30 years. This is a testament to how much everyone is committed to their patients and fostering the mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children.”
On April 17, 2017, Shriners Hospitals for Children – Lexington will open a new facility on South Limestone across from the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital. The new facility will be a state-of-the-art ambulatory care center, owned and operated by Shriners Hospitals for Children, and designed to better meet the orthopedic needs of children and their families well into the future.
The estimated cost of the new Shriners Hospitals for Children Medical Center is $47 million. The new Lexington Shriners Hospital facility will include a motion analysis laboratory, one of only three in the state, an EOS imaging system, the first in Kentucky, 20 patient exam rooms, two surgical suites, a rehabilitation gymnasium and therapy rooms, and interactive artwork.
Hubbard, along with the entire pediatric orthopedic medical team at Lexington Shriners Hospital, is looking forward to the benefit the new facility will bring to their patients particularly those with complex conditions. “Relocating to the UK HealthCare campus will help us optimize our patient care by allowing us to have a close connection with other pediatric subspecialties at Kentucky Children’s Hospital,” Hubbard says. “The new facility will offer us the ability to work closer with our pediatric medicine and surgical colleagues and offer a broader range of healthcare to better serve our patients who have more complex medical conditions.”
Lexington Shriners Hospital will begin seeing patients at their new facility on April 17, 2017, and their dedication ceremony will be held on May 21, 2017 at 1:00 pm.
Morgan Hall is director of public relations for Shriners Hospitals for Children – Lexington. She can be reached at 859.268.5719.