Growing up, Dr. Remi Fasipe was surrounded by uncles who were physicians. Given a love for biology, "I could never do anything other than medicine," she says.
Along the way, she discovered a passion for pediatrics.
She recalls a boy whose brain tumor she treated while in medical school in Nigeria. "It was just so amazing to see this thing shrink," Fasipe says. "And the patient was off treatment and did well."
Fasipe brought her skills and passion to Springfield in August 2009, when she joined St. John's Children's Hospital, a St. Jude affiliate.
She is the region's first pediatric hematologist-oncologist.
Fasipe says the position is a good fit for her.
She previously had restarted the pediatric hematology oncology department at Cooper Hospital in Camden, N.J., after the department had sat idle for five years.
"I figured I'd done it before, and this is doable and I'm up to the challenge," Fasipe says. "I guess I like to start things as opposed to joining things."
Fasipe, who was born in England and moved to Nigeria with her family at the age of 5, has studied around the world.
She attended medical school in Nigeria, completed residencies in the United States and conducted fellowship studies in the United Kingdom. But Fasipe's excited about the opportunities she's found in Springfield because of the St. Jude affiliation.
She particularly enjoys the fact that families who previously had to travel hours for their children to receive care - sometimes breaking up families for weeks or months at a time - can find treatment for childhood cancers here at home.
"I can't put a word to it, but it's a great joy and the parents are really grateful to have their treatment here locally," Fasipe says.
Fasipe hopes the program continues to expand in 2010. She'd like to see the addition of another physician, which eventually might allow them to offer clinics in more remote areas of the Ozarks.
"I have quite a number of patients from the Houston area, some from Joplin," Fasipe says. "There's still a need out there and patients are still having to travel far. It would be nice to be able to expand the program and go other places maybe once a month or so and do a clinic down there."
For now, though, she is happy to be providing care to the patients she has.
Children are amazingly resilient, she says, recounting a story of a little boy who interrupted a conversation between her and his parents with, "I'm hungry."
"Well, what do you want?" she recalls asking. He rattled off a list of predictable foods: french fries, a hot dog and chocolate milk. "I said, 'Well, your bill is $10.20' and he went into his pocket and he said, 'You know what? I left my wallet in my Jeep.' A little 5-year-old boy! I was cracking up," Fasipe says laughing.
"You see that so often, and they come in and run in and give you a hug. You still poke them and get their blood counts and all that, but the next week, they're still there running."
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
