For more than five decades, Robert Baumann, MD, has quietly reshaped the landscape of child neurology in Kentucky. His life’s work has stretched far beyond the University’s walls and into the rolling hills of Appalachia, positively impacting the futures of thousands of children and families.
In 2023, Dr. Baumann was honored with the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Gov. Andy Beshear in recognition of his extraordinary service to the Commonwealth. But for those who know him, and for the countless lives touched by his work, no single award can capture the depth of his contributions.
Building a strong foundation of care
Dr. Baumann arrived in Lexington in 1972, recruited by renowned neurologist David Clark, MD, founding chair of the UK College of Medicine Department of Neurology. At the time, child neurology was still a fledgling specialty, and jobs in the field were scarce.
“There were hardly any child neurologists anywhere,” Dr. Baumann recalled. “Nobody thought anyone needed a child neurologist.”
But Dr. Clark had a bold vision: to create an independent department that combined adult and child neurology, and to extend that care into rural Kentucky, where families were often isolated from specialized medical services. Dr. Baumann was the one tasked with making that vision real.
“My first year, I spent driving around eastern Kentucky, talking to health departments and negotiating for them to let us run clinics,” he said. “We were very successful. People were very receptive.”
With support from the state and the trust of local health departments, Dr. Baumann helped launch a groundbreaking network of rural outreach clinics, offering care to children who otherwise would have gone without. The clinics grew steadily, and today, UK HealthCare’s child neurologists still travel to eastern Kentucky nearly every week. With a combination of in-person and telehealth visits, these clinics now see about 2,000 patients annually, many of whom have never had to leave their home communities for care.
What made the clinics unique wasn’t just where they were, but how they operated. Every element was rooted in the local community: nurses, social workers and support staff were all from the area, bringing a deep understanding of local needs and family dynamics.
“Sophisticated practice has to be integrated with the knowledge of the resources in the community,” Dr. Baumann explained. “You can run very sophisticated services without being in a 1,000-bed building. You can be in a very rural area and still deliver high-level care.”
His favorite example is one of the outreach program’s earliest patients: a coal miner whose epilepsy had gone undiagnosed for years. After receiving treatment, the miner returned to work safely. But when he stopped coming to follow-up visits, Dr. Baumann and his team realized that distance, time off work and lack of access — not indifference — were the barriers to continued care.
“That was a major impetus for starting the outreach clinics,” Dr. Baumann said. “Everyone had to take a day off work to bring him in. It just wasn’t sustainable.”
Training the next generation
From the beginning, these clinics were also designed as teaching spaces. Residents and medical students joined Dr. Baumann on visits, gaining hands-on experience in rural medicine and community-based care. Many of those trainees have since become leaders in child neurology at institutions like Brown, Duke and even UK itself.
“Several of our faculty trained here,” he said. “There’s something to be said about the caliber of training here.”
That impact is clear to Kimberly Jones, MD, associate professor of child neurology and assistant dean for learning communities, who trained under Dr. Baumann.
“As a resident, I loved traveling to our rural clinics with Dr. Baumann,” she recalled. “His encyclopedic knowledge of Kentucky meant that every trip also became a history lesson, as he shared the stories behind the places we passed along the way.”
What stood out to her most, however, was his approach to teaching. “He didn’t just teach us neurology,” Dr. Jones said. “He made sure we understood cultural differences and learned to creatively find resources in some of the poorest counties in the state.”
Even after stepping back from in-person clinic travel, Dr. Baumann remains deeply involved. He still consults weekly via telehealth, handles medication management by email, and provides guidance to nurses and families throughout the state. His approach — personal, resourceful and community-centered — has always reflected his belief that healing is more than diagnosis.
“Our kids in rural Kentucky need access to the same level of sophistication as anyone else,” he said. “It’s one thing to provide physician services, but they also need physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and more.”
His career has also been marked by research and national leadership. He’s authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, served on National Institutes of Health (NIH) advisory boards and directed the UK Child Neurology Residency Program. But when asked what he’s most proud of, he doesn’t mention titles or accolades.
“It’s the kids that you’ve helped,” he said. “And the people you train — who take these ideas and build on them in ways you never would have imagined.”
Reflecting on the future of child neurology in Kentucky, Dr. Baumann emphasized the importance of staying connected — not only to patients, but also to the communities they call home. That connection, he noted, is especially meaningful in rural parts of the state.
“It’s satisfying to work with folks in rural Kentucky,” he said. “Our patients are just so appreciative. You feel like you’re really making a difference.”
With the next generation of clinicians building on his foundation — and new facilities at UK designed to support collaborative, holistic care — his legacy is secure. And yet, it continues to grow with every patient seen, every student mentored and every mile traveled through Kentucky’s winding mountain roads.
Dr. Baumann’s career may be measured in years, but its true impact is measured in lives changed, possibilities opened and futures rewritten.