Dr. Michael Karpf is leading a transformation of the University of Kentucky medical program, with the goal of ranking among the nation's top 20 research institutions. In the process of recruiting talent, Karpf has had to sell Lexington as an attractive place to call home.
TM: You were recruited to the University of Kentucky in 2003 as Executive Vice President for Health Affairs with the assignment of developing a health care system in support of the state's mandate that the university become a Top 20 research institution by the year 2020. Are you making progress toward that goal?
MK: Oh, absolutely. We feel extremely good about the progress we've made. If you look at it from a quantitative point of view, the hospital has grown dramatically from 19,000 admissions in 2003 to including Samaritan (hospital) between 33,000 and 34,000 admissions. To put that into perspective, at 19,000 admissions, we were a small academic medical center, 25th percentile; at 33,000 admissions, we're a very large academic medical center in the 75th percentile. We're not quite as large, but we are approaching the size of a Vanderbilt or a Michigan, probably pretty close to the size of a Duke or the hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. If you want to play with the big boys, if you want to be a Top 20 public research institution, you have to have adequate size. As we've grown clinically, our academic stature has also grown. The number of applications to the medical school have doubled. NIH research funding has gone up even during tough times. And so to me, the growth clinically has stimulated growth in research, the research and academic growth have stimulated clinical growth, so I feel very good about our ability to become a Top 20 public research institution. And I hope we'll be able to achieve that long before 2020 on the academic medical campus.
TM: Beyond the statistical measures and fiscal measures, one need only drive up Limestone to see the actual physical growth.
MK: We have an awful lot going on. We've got the new hospital facility going up. It's a 1.2 million-square-foot building, the first phase of which will build the building and fit out about half the buildings - $525 million. The new emergency room will open in 2010. The lobby and public spaces will open in 2011. The new garage already has the first 900 spaces open. Another 700 spaces will open by the middle of March. The pharmacy building, you're about to see a crane go up there. So from a physical point of view, we are doing great.
Bricks and mortar are good, but what's really important in health care are the people, the nurses and the doctors. We think we've recruited absolutely wonderful physicians, brought in fabulous nurses. And we've recruited many people on a national level, and we've also developed a lot of local Kentucky people into outstanding folks. So the bricks and mortar support, the excellent facility and the excellent workforce that we are developing, makes it attractive to come to Kentucky where they can get the facilities they need to do the kind of excellent work they want to do.
TM: Was it apparent when you came to Lexington that you would find yourself in a role of becoming a transformational force in the larger community?
MK: I don't know if I'm a transformational force. I don't know exactly what that means. I was pretty certain that the medical complex here could grow substantially and had good bones. It had good fundamentals; it just needed to get focused. And when I came, I suspected that I would be visible in the community and I told my wife that she would be visible in the community, and both of us have been very comfortable getting involved in the community. Lexington is a fabulous place to live, and so I've appreciated the opportunity to participate in Lexington as well as function in the university and especially in the academic medical center.
TM: The creation of so many high-paying jobs requiring professional skills attracts talent from all over the country. Are you finding in Lexington what you need to attract that talent?
MK: Between saving jobs at Samaritan and bringing people in because of the clinical growth and the research growth, we now have added over 2,000 jobs. These are very high-paying jobs. We'll add another 1,500 jobs or more over the next several years. We've actually added over $200 million to the payroll between the College of Medicine and the hospital, and will add another $150 million. So we are a very significant economic force in this town and we've been fortunate enough to recruit from all over the country - from Boston, from Los Angeles, from Ann Arbor, from Chapel Hill, you name it. The first problem I have is when I call and say, "I want you to come and take a look at Lexington, Kentucky." They say, "I've never been to Lexington, Kentucky. I'm not sure about Kentucky." I say come on down and take a look, and when they come and look at Lexington, they find a fabulous community. I don't think there has been anybody that I have lost because of the community. They find a very pretty region, clean, safe, and reasonable housing - not cheap, Lexington's real estate is not cheap, but it's not New York and it's not Los Angeles. You find increasingly improving restaurants and entertainment scene, increasingly improving art scene. Music is good here. Schools are good. So almost everybody I've recruited has become a real supporter of Lexington and a real booster in helping recruit other individuals to this area.
TM: At the same time, have there been any challenges, any specific obstacles?
MK: I think the biggest problem is getting them to come and look for the first time. I think once they come and understand Lexington they feel very good about it. There are certainly some folks who just can't live out of a major metropolitan area and Lexington may not be for them. But people appreciate the lifestyle here. I've lived in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Miami, Philadelphia, but when I go out to Los Angeles, I can't wait to get back to Lexington where the traffic is sane, where I can walk to Starbucks with my dog, and it just has a very nice lifestyle.
TM: How does it affect a community when professionals such as these arrive from major markets all over the country and bring with them sophisticated experiences and expectations?
MK: These are people who, when they come into this community, one, have a lot of economic impact, and two, they are very much interested in schools, so they push for better schools. The get engaged in things in the community. They become civic minded. They get involved in philanthropic activities. They get involved in community activities. These are folks who feel that being part of the community is very important. They become proactive. I think Lexington needs people who are proactive and needs people that are advocates for it on a national scene.
TM: What are your concerns in light of the deep budget cuts that have been proposed by Governor Beshear?
MK: I have some serious concerns. I think the university as a whole is really poised over a reasonable period of time to become a Top 20 public research institution. When I talk to folks around the country and they say, "What's the University of Kentucky like?", I tell them it's a very serious university right now and it has a real strength in its research efforts and it has a real commitment to the students. It's a major vehicle for young people in Kentucky to get prepared for the future and the new economy. It would be devastating to take some steps backwards. It's important to know that the building project we have for the hospital we are essentially funding ourselves. We very much appreciate the support from the legislature and the governor. We got the authority to borrow $250 million dollars, which we are paying back. But in order for us to really become a leading research institution, we need additional research space and that we can't pay for out of clinical money, so we need state support for that. As you get stronger as a clinical institution, you get stronger as a research institution. As you get stronger as a research institution, you get stronger as a clinical institution. We could slow our growth and our development if we don't get adequate support for our research initiative. It would be bad for the community. It would hold the community back. It would be bad for economic development. So, I'm worried about this budget. I'm a positive kind of person, and I'll overcome whatever I have to overcome, but I think we're on the cusp of doing something really special for this community.
TM: And what you are talking about here is momentum, which is something that can be lost in a blink.
MK: Absolutely. I tell people that folks don't understand Lexington. When they put out these lists of the 10 top places to live and you see Ann Arbor and you see Charlottesville and you see the Golden Triangle of North Carolina, these places aren't one iota better than Lexington. Lexington is more diverse than them in many ways in terms of economic base, has great natural beauty in the horse farms and the countryside, and we should be on those lists. We'll get on those lists and we'll get that kind of respect. We should never have the Rodney Dangerfield mentality. We have a tremendous amount of momentum taking us in that direction, and we can't afford to lose it, we can't afford to slow up. Will it cripple us? I think you've got a lot of good people here. We'll get through almost anything and take us where we need to go. It will just make it that much harder and take it that much longer for us to get there. ... People in Lexington underestimate what they have. I think it takes an outsider like myself and people that I have brought in to say, you know, great lifestyle, wonderful community, really terrific to be here. We need to just keep pushing forward. It would be a shame to take a couple of steps back right now. Not even take a couple of steps back - be slowed up. I mean we've got the big Mo at the moment; we can't afford to lose that.