The newest face at Baptist Health Medical Group in Marathon is Dr. Karisa Falden, a family medicine practitioner. This is her first job, post-residency.
“I love being outside,” said Falden of her move to the Florida Keys, adding that it’s a huge change from Chicago where she spent the last eight years. The Florida native — she graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and did her undergraduate studies at Florida International University — said the novelty of a northern winter wore off by year two.
Why family medicine?
“I love … everything,” Falden said. “I had an interest in obstetrics, too, but I like building a relationship with a patient, the longevity of it. And I love treating kids, women and men. I love when everyday is different.”
Falden comes from a family of medical professionals. Mom is a nurse, as is her sister, and dad is a physician’s assistant. She said she always knew she wanted to help people, adding that she chose the Baptist Health South Florida position in Marathon very carefully.
“I was born at the Baptist hospital in Kendall,” she said, “and volunteered there in high school. The Baptist Health Medical Group in Marathon has a very well run clinic with good follow-up. They are very supportive, too, of the medical staff and their patients.”
It doesn’t hurt that the doctors have a brand-new hospital to work in at Fishermen’s Community Hospital. “It’s amazing to have new machines, but to have all new machines? Everything is brand new. And it’s a rare opportunity to work in a new hospital.”
Falden’s office is in the First Professional Building in Marathon. Baptist Health Medical Group is located at 5701 Overseas Hwy., Marathon. The phone number is 305-434-1400.
