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June 26, 2014Dr. Christopher Baldwin believes in small hospitals.
Baldwin, a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, recently joined Texas County Memorial Hospital where he is providing obstetrical services and full-spectrum women’s health including surgical services.
“I have really been impressed with the small hospitals where I have worked,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin explained that in small hospitals he’s found that many staff members are cross-trained to provide care across multiple disciplines, leading to “outstanding outcomes”.
“Small hospitals are phenomenally effective with the care they provide despite their geographic location or lack of specialized services,” Baldwin explained, adding that TCMH is not the smallest hospital he has practiced at in his 26 year medical career.
Baldwin grew up in Springfield, MO. His father was an obstetrician, and Baldwin and his brother all chose to pursue medical careers. 
Baldwin was a “science-y” student in high school, and he pursued an undergraduate degree in biology at Westminster University in Fulton. After completing medical school at the University of Maryland, Baldwin’s interest in surgery led him to pursue an obstetrics and gynecology residency program at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, OH.
Baldwin first worked for a group practice in Radford, VA where he practiced for six years until the group practice fell apart. Baldwin relocated to Cullman, AL where he worked as a solo OB/GYN at a hospital “smaller than TCMH” in a town of 13,000.
While in Cullman, Baldwin delivered hundreds of babies each year in addition to providing women’s health and surgical services. Baldwin worked with midwives in the community and family medicine physicians.
Baldwin’s 12-year practice in Cullman came to an end in 1998 when the hospital closed its obstetrics department after being bought out by a larger healthcare system.
On a visit to Springfield, MO with his family, Baldwin took a position as a solo OB/GYN in Rolla providing obstetrics and surgical services at Phelps County Regional Medical Center where he worked until last year.
Baldwin explains with a chuckle that most of the decisions he’s made in life have been an “act of God”, and he believes the position at TCMH is another one.
Baldwin and his wife, Susan, were looking at new OB/GYN positions in smaller towns in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri only to have a position open down the road in Houston.
TCMH had not employed a physician that specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, but growing obstetrical needs in the hospital’s service area and a lack of family medicine physicians interested in pursuing a position at TCMH that included a busy obstetrics practice led the hospital to broaden the scope of their physician search.
“Our recruiting efforts for a family medicine physician with obstetrics to fill our position did not produce any results after several months of work, and with increasing need to bring on additional obstetrical hope, we broadened our search to include OB/GYN trained physicians,” Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH, said.
“We believe that adding an OB/GYN to our employed physician mix will enhance the level of services we are able to provide to our patients,” Murray said.
Baldwin is trained to provide prenatal and obstetrical care including Cesarean section. Baldwin also provides women’s healthcare including a wide variety of gynecological and urogynecological surgical procedures.
“So many women have had to go out of the area for surgeries and outpatient procedures, and Dr. Baldwin will be able to treat them here, close to home,” Murray said, adding that Baldwin’s arrival is a “huge addition” to surgical and women’s health services available in Texas County.
Baldwin believes in the “practice” of medicine with each woman’s specific needs.
“I’m a big individualizer with my patients,” Baldwin said, adding, “Every woman is different.”
With Baldwin’s many years of experience, he’s watched health fads come and go and surgical procedures have changed and improved as well.
“I can do hysterectomies every which way,” Baldwin said, rattling off a handful of ways to perform hysterectomies based on the woman’s specific needs.
Baldwin also does some urogynecological procedures for women with incontinence and other bladder and pelvic health issues.
Routine gynecological procedures also include tubal ligation, dilation and curettage, and birth control counseling and placement of Implanon, Nexplanon and intrauterine devices. For women with heavy menses, he can do stress endomentrial ablation. Some procedures are done in the office or in the hospital’s surgical department as an outpatient procedure.
“While I enjoy doing surgeries, I can usual avoid it by offering non-surgical alternatives for my patients,” Baldwin stressed regarding his practice style.
Baldwin’s clinic practice is based out of the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston. He sees women for healthcare concerns related to infertility, headaches, fatigue, hormone replacement and sexual desire.
Baldwin shares obstetrical call with the family medicine physicians that provide obstetrical care at TCMH. The hospital has also recruited a certified nurse midwife—Tracey Arwood—that will collaborate with Baldwin when she moves to the area in August. Arwood, in collaboration with Baldwin, will do an obstetrics and women’s health clinic at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic, too.
Baldwin has been married to Susan for 22 years. Susan is also from Springfield, and the two grew up not too far apart, but didn’t know each other until adulthood.
“We had to travel the world and date all kinds of people before we met each other,” Baldwin said with a laugh.
The Baldwin’s have two children. Katie just completed her freshman year at William Woods University. John will be a senior in high school this year. They have family members that live in Springfield, and they plan to find a home in Texas County.
When Baldwin is not working he enjoys woodworking, which he affectionately refers to as “sawdust making”. He plays golf, tennis and enjoys participating in adventure races.
Baldwin has observed healthcare become more and more “corporate”, and he expressed relief in finding a place to practice medicine that was not owned by a larger healthcare system.
“I have been very impressed by what I’ve found here,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin explained that he and his wife have enjoyed settling into small towns. “The people are so friendly and inviting,” he said.
And best of all, TCMH was “just down the road.”