Josh Baker, an acute care physical therapist on the 10 South Trauma Stepdown Unit at Vanderbilt University Hospital, has a natural ability to navigate difficult situations with patients — calmly helping them see past their current situation and return to mobility as quickly as possible.
Patients have complimented his attitude and demeanor, how he pushes them forward with his positivity and celebrates their accomplishments.
For his dedication to helping patients rehabilitate and achieve early mobility, Baker received a Vanderbilt University Medical Center Credo Award, presented at the January virtual Leadership Assembly.
Baker has worked at VUMC since his graduation from Belmont University’s physical therapy program in 2016, first at Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, then in the 17-bed Trauma Stepdown Unit.
On his nomination form, a colleague praised Baker for helping patients through trying periods during their recoveries.
“Josh is able to help patients see past their current situations and see the hope for returning to a fulfilling life, whether that be back to their baseline functional status, or to how a new normal may look, and how the new normal will be just as fulfilling. Josh has an uncanny ability to make people laugh and enjoy the present moment, while at the same time providing the highest quality care in a professional manner.”
Baker said one of the reasons he loves his job is that the patients on the unit are complex, both medically and socially.
“There can be a half dozen specialties consulted for a patient — anything from neurosurgery and psychiatry to orthopaedic trauma and plastic surgery. The thing I like about rehab in particular is that it’s where it all comes together, where the rubber meets the road, or the feet meet the floor,” Baker said.
“I can be in one room with a 20-year-old gunshot wound victim of crime and go into the next room of an 87-year-old grandma who experienced a ground-level fall. I like the variability of my job,” he said. “A lot of what I do is setting and managing expectations for the patients. It can range from, ‘You’re going to be sore for a couple of days or weeks’ to ‘You have a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury, and you’re going to have this for the rest of your life.’ Setting and managing expectations leads to empowering patients to be an active participant in their care. Our rehab department is so powerful. It’s a huge benefit to our hospital.”
A patient who lost a leg contributed to Baker’s nomination.
“I felt like Josh was truly invested in my recovery and is willing to give me as much time as I need to keep improving, as long as I am ready and willing to put in the effort,” the nomination read. “My actual gains have been more than I could have expected in this short time period under Josh’s care, and they are in very large part due to Josh’s attitude and encouragement … It’s really my daily visits from Josh that help me to see and have hope for my future situation, both in terms of my mobility (even before an eventual prosthetic) but more generally of how I’ll be able to keep living and being me despite the injury I’ve suffered.”
Baker said he treats his patients as he would want to be treated.
“One of the things I keep in mind while working with patients is that anybody can end up on the trauma unit. We’re one bad drive home from being a patient here,” he said.
Baker isn’t the first from his physical therapy graduating class at Belmont University to receive a Credo Award. Classmate Grace Cronin Ely, a physical therapist in Pediatric Rehabilitation Services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, received one in 2021.
Baker said he believes classical ballet training in his teens and the knowledge of the importance of proper movement have aided him in his career. “A lot of principles of ballet — coordination, balance, weight shift, strength — translate directly to what I do as physical therapist,” he said.
Although very appreciative of the award, Baker said he feels undeserving.
“Nearly anybody who works at this hospital would be deserving of this award. Being from Nashville, I’ve always had a tremendous respect for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This place is unbelievable,” he said.
View Josh Baker’s video from Leadership Assembly.
If you are a VUMC employee, you can nominate a colleague for an Elevate Credo Award, Five Pillar Leader Award, or Team Award. Visit the Elevate website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when: they make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cut off for an award selection period, the nomination will be considered for the next period. VUMC VOICE will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
