surgeries with lower risk .
“ Years ago it would be too risky to be able to do , but being able to protect the heart , have the heart come back and have the patient survive has been the big thing for cardiac surgery ,” he said . “ Also , being able to use multiple arterial grafts for younger patients with coronary disease . It was known in the 80s that using the left internal mammary artery graft was potentially prolonging patients ’ lives , and now we believe that multiple arterial grafts will extend that even further .”
No longer his office manager , his wife Laura is busier than ever , even more than he is , Dr . Pollock said . One of their daughters recently moved back to the area , and Laura is now the project manager for the construction on her house . While her background isn ’ t in construction , there ’ s nothing she can ’ t do , he said .
“ She ’ s very technically and structurally oriented , and she has an eidetic memory . Plus , she was my office manager for eight years , and our accountant said we had the most successful practice she ’ d ever seen , because she pinched every penny ,” he laughed .
The two have a blended family of five children : Evan , Courtney , Robert , Ian and Carol . Among them are eight amazing grandchildren : Evan , Wyatt , Colton , Emmet , Ben , Aiden , Carter and Luna . Tragically , the family lost Carol in 2021 when she died suddenly at 34 . She was a driven nurse practitioner and was President of the Kentucky Nurse Practitioners and Midwives and had been appointed to the Foundation for Healthy Kentucky . She was pursuing her Doctor
of Nursing Practice degree at Duke , and with her outstanding 3.98 GPA , Laura accepted her degree last spring . The family remains dedicated to honoring her memory as not only a daughter , mother and wife , but also a health care hero .
With the eight grandchildren ranging from a senior in high school to two in pre-school , the Pollocks rarely have free time – and they couldn ’ t be happier about it . From after-school pickups to movie nights to sleepovers , they love to spend any free moments with their family . While they haven ’ t traveled since the beginning of the pandemic , the plan is to get to Sweden next year , if possible .
For now , Dr . Pollock said he has no intentions of slowing down as a physician .
“ I think I still feel pretty young for my age , so I ’ m going to continue to work . We have some projects at Baptist that I ’ m excited to see come to fruition like the cardiac ICU which will be done in two years . For a few more years I ’ ll be active clinically , but then I ’ m not sure what ’ s next after that . I still love what I do , and there is no doubt that I would still do it exactly the same way again , no question . I don ’ t see any other thing that I ’ d ever want to do other than what I do right now .”
Kathryn Vance is the Communication Specialist at the Greater Louisville Medical Society .
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