saw that last week. Boom, saw two of those.”
After completing her residency in 1982, Dr. Woerner stayed on as a
family medicine physician and professor at UofL for nine years. In what
spare time she could find, she worked part time in obstetrics for FHC.
“Delivering babies was special for me. It’s just a miracle. That’s all you
can say. We try to control a lot, as doctors, but so much of childbirth is
outside of our control. You do the best you can, and God gives you those
skills to help.”
Dr. Woerner presented with the "Presentation Tower Award"
Dr. Woerner met her husband Tom in a strange turn of fate. He was
working at the law firm that represented Dr. Woerner and her physicians
in a malpractice lawsuit.
“In baby delivery, malpractice suits come up. I was cross covering for
someone, I delivered the baby, and it was having problems. It ultimately
died. Myself and another person involved faced a lawsuit. I was successfully
defended by the firm where my husband worked. Life takes all kinds of
turns. We met in 1986 and were married in 1987 at Bellarmine Chapel.”
In 1991, Dr. Woerner committed to the FHC, where she would work
for the next 27 years. She’s been a part of three site moves, beginning her
career on South Shelby Street in the old Red Cross Hospital. FHC moved
to 914 East Broadway, where they were stationed for 16 years. Finally, in
2015 the FHC relocated just down Broadway to a much larger facility.
At her daughters wedding
Dr. Woerner believes each move was a positive step towards better
coverage. “I know this population needs medical care. This job means a
lot to me, because this is a place where you can do more. Whatever care
you provide, for them, is probably a lot,” she said.
Stretching outside her comfort zone, Dr. Woerner and her husband
visited Haiti in 2017 with a group from UofL. It was a medical mission
trip which doubled as a 30 th anniversary celebration.
“I asked my husband if he wanted to go to Haiti. It was actually very
good he came, as a non-medical person. He was in the Scouts. You can
have all the medical help you need while you’re there, but sometimes you
really need a boy scout. We called him our CEO, because he was able to
look at a work area and plan stations or triage. He was a big help.”
Haiti made Dr. Woerner realize how privileged modern health care is,
while taking care of the least privileged among us. “I prescribed a patient
180 Tylenol, so they could take two or three per day for a month. The
patient took it to the pharmacy in Haiti, and they got 10 total. It doesn’t
matter the prescription. Ten for the month. That’s your ration. Back here,
it’s a whole different world.”
Tom and Elaine working in Haiti
At Will's graduation
Haiti was her second trip abroad. Dr. Woerner’s first came a few years
earlier when they visited her daughter, Maria, who was studying in Viet-
nam. “We spent a couple weeks there. We visited four cities and stayed
through Christmas. It was interesting to spend the holiday in Hanoi.
We were in this little restaurant eating soup, it wasn’t quite turkey and
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