Real Impact stories spotlight the real difference people, programs and partnerships – across the system – make on the state’s economic, social and cultural well-being. For more, meet Bryan.
The fourth of eight children, Kelsey Hopkins started working on a farm when he was 11. But an experience at age 15 led to his career as a rural Illinois physician.
A passenger in a car accident, Hopkins found himself in unfamiliar territory. An ambulance. The hospital. The experience was strange but tender.
“The doctor called me at home that night. He just wanted to know how I was, to make sure I was OK,” Hopkins said. “It made a lasting impression.”
Fast forward to his next step after earning a degree in biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) resonated in a flash.
“It was made for me,” said the small-town physician who now exemplifies some of the program’s most impactful statistics.
- 65% of RMED graduates practice in towns of less than 50,000 people
- RMED graduates practice in 80 different Illinois communities
RMED, part of UIC’s College of Medicine Rockford, is just one of the initiatives across the University of Illinois System that helps close healthcare gaps in the state. RMED and programs like it are necessary to help stem widespread shortages of healthcare providers, especially in rural areas. Stops on the system's third-annual leadership tour this fall united people and organizations working to help ease the impact. The system’s universities and UI Health educate and train more medical professionals than any other institution in Illinois, giving learners experience with patients from all walks of life and exposure to technology and innovation shaping the future of healthcare.
Small-town foundation
Hopkins remembers clearly one of the most impactful parts of medical school.
“In the 16-week preceptorship the last year of med school, RMED immerses students in a community. This shows the importance of the relationships between physicians and their patients in rural practices,” he said.
The intensive experience also accelerates students’ clinical skills and medical decision-making.
“Sometimes they see a patient in multiple settings – the office, emergency room, hospital inpatient, etc.,” Hopkins said. “They truly feel like part of the practice, something that’s difficult to accomplish during the standard four- and six-week rotations.”
After RMED graduation in 2007, Hopkins did his residency at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Ind. Then he and his wife looked for a place between his Illinois hometown and hers. Enter Greenville, which has a population of about 7,000 today. Emboldened, he cold called a medical practice there. The doctor had been searching for another physician for more than five years, highlighting the reality of the shortage.
The setup – including shifts at Greenville Regional Hospital – was the right fit for his training.
“When we’re treating friends and neighbors, we have to remember we’re taking care of the whole person. They’re more than their diagnosis or disease,” he said, emphasizing an RMED tenet and part of what he loves about his work. “Knowing I’ve earned a patient’s trust fills me up.”
Down-home hero
In 2016, Hopkins and a University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria alum opened Greenville Family Medicine. The step solidified his commitment to patients in the community and region.
While house calls are often a thing of the past, Hopkins is all in. He credits his upbringing for his work ethic and compassion for others.
“We do house calls and visit patients in nursing homes and assisted living,” he said. “We do everything we can. We feel it’s our mission.”
Hopkins now provides the same sincere and skilled care that grabbed his attention as a teen.
Shortly after Amy Jackson and her husband moved back to Greenville, she had their third child, Harper. The very difficult delivery left Jackson paralyzed from the waist down, scared and overwhelmed.
Hopkins heard about her situation and contacted her to see how he could help.
“Before that, we knew Dr. Hopkins just well enough to say ‘hi’ at the grocery store,” said Jackson, Greenville Elementary School assistant principal. “For him to reach out with his knowledge and willingness was so kind.”
Hopkins made sure Jackson got in to see a neurologist and start the intense physical therapy she needed to make a full recovery.
“To look at me now, no one would know what I went through,” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t be where I am if not for Dr. Hopkins. And not just for my physical recovery. He helped with my emotional health.”
‘Best healthcare we could ask for’
Jackson’s visits with Hopkins are less dramatic but equally care-filled years later.
“I trust him with my family’s care. We all see him,” she said. “He keeps up with what the kids are doing. And he even helps us with preseason plans for Ryan’s asthma so he can play baseball safely.”
Ryan, a college freshman, is Jackson and husband Kevin’s oldest, followed by CJ, a high school junior, and Harper who is now in fourth grade. Both Kevin and Jackson’s dad, who is 80, see Hopkins.
“Dr. Hopkins is so smart, but he still can connect with people from all walks of life,” she said. “He’s great with all ages, from babies to the elderly. He just cares so much.
“We have the best healthcare you could ask for, and it’s right here in our small town.”
An assistant clinical professor at his medical school alma mater, Hopkins now interviews students who want to be part of RMED. He also provides the fourth-year 16-week preceptorship experience to future rural physicians.
“When RMED students graduate, they’re set up for success,” Hopkins said. “The nature of rural healthcare allows them to make their own path. And they find it rewarding because there’s a true need for their expertise.”
The University of Illinois System prioritizing the health and well-being of the state's communities and residents is just part of what makes us Altogether Extraordinary. To share your story idea, please message lmabry@uillinois.edu.
