Harbin leaves legacy of caring

When it comes to life as a college student and the USI experience, the University strives to ensure students are cared for academically and in other facets of life. None of those are as important as health. And for almost eight years, USI students and employees have trusted Dr. Ward Harbin to look after their health.

“I’m what you look like when you go to medical school at 47,” he says with a smile. “I went late in life, so I’m not typical.”

As the contract family physician at the University Health Center (UHC), Harbin has been the primary doctor for many students and employees since April 2015. And while medicine wasn’t his first career choice, he has always been driven by a passion to care for others.

“Caregiving is what got me interested in pursuing medicine,” Harbin explains. “We cared for in-laws, relatives, friends—probably in almost every setting you can imagine. It was a huge experience and placed patient and family concern at the center of everything.”

Harbin first went through CNA training so he could obtain a better understanding of medical care. And while he can’t say he took the training as a first step to practicing medicine, in the end, that is what it became. Seeing patients, meeting their families and working to help heal them fulfilled Harbin’s drive to care for others.

“Once you are a caregiver, you look at it differently. You look at the human and the person in context of their family. It’s not just throwing pills at a person in an office. It’s total immersion—caregiving is body, mind and spirit,” he says.

Harbin completed his residency in Henderson, Kentucky, at what was then Methodist Hospital (now Deaconess) and after, pursued a one-year fellowship in hospital medicine with Deaconess. The fellowship allowed him to see more acute, nonchronic conditions, which gave him experience in recognizing and preventing illness in a clinic setting, which was where he wished to practice.

It was toward the end of that fellowship with Deaconess that he found his path to USI. Harbin was already familiar with the University thanks to his wife, Dr. Kathy Elpers, who taught on campus in Social Work for many years. So, when the opening for a family practice doctor at the UHC became available, Harbin looked at it as an opportunity.

“I didn’t look to work at typical clinics, and I thought this was just a unique way to get acquainted with a younger population,” Harbin explains. “I’ve always been around the older population, more geriatric care for senior issues or more adult medicine. This was kind of a unique way to treat younger patients.”

At USI, Harbin has built a reputation of caring, going above and beyond for the students and employees by applying a “country doctor” mentality to his practice. When it comes to his patients, it is important to be compassionate, he says, and remember to treat them as humans--they are a person, not just their illness.

“It’s just kind of a high road. I definitely enjoy the connection and compassion you can have with patients and their care,” he says. “They may have a disease or emotional issues, but they are still a unique human being.”

And at USI, he’s been able to incorporate that with the different clinic setting of the UHC. He describes the clinic as a hybrid of urgent care and primary, which adds to its uniqueness. But where the strength of the UHC lies is in its team of caregivers, Harbin says, who understand the clinic is the primary care office for students, faculty and staff.

“The whole staff takes the time to be personal and caring. That's what I think is our strong suit. That's what's unique. We are not ‘treat them and street them.’ We can reach out to multiple departments here such as the Dean of Students Office (DOSO) and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to coordinate care that’s beyond our clinic,” he says.

He also gives thanks and credit to Dr. Brad Scheu, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Deaconess, and Dr. Capri Weyer, Deaconess Pediatrics. Over the years their support has helped him in his role at USI and continues to help as he transitions from campus to a new role.

As the 2022 Fall Semester winds down, so does Harbin’s time as the primary doctor of the UHC. He looks to continue working in a unique clinic setting by becoming a primary doctor for the Deaconess Memorial Baptist Clinic on Walnut Street. Located in the inner part of Evansville, this clinic is a partnership between Deaconess and Baptist Memorial Church, striving to provide medical care to this population.

It's a challenge right in line with Harbin’s passion, personality and work as a medical professional—providing care for a person as a whole. This clinic will allow him to also expand into more social determinants of health, including housing, food security, child daycare, employment, financial concerns and more that may keep a person from seeking needed healthcare.

“All the things they are doing are exciting. I feel not only will I be working in the clinic but working out in the community on the other aspects of their lives. It feels like a natural next step for me,” says Harbin. “It’s going to be challenging, but it’s going to be a positive challenge.”

With the excitement comes a tinge of bittersweetness as he leaves behind co-workers and a campus full of patients he has gotten to know and care for over the years. Harbin has shared in the excitement and struggles students face during their college careers. But all of his time at USI has brought him new lessons and deeper meaning.

“I’ve felt like a granddad or something; when the students graduate, it’s like a fond farewell. They’ve succeeded, and they are moving on,” says Harbin. “That’s always been fun, sharing their journey.”