Frank S. Kim, MD
Freeman Heart & Vascular Institute
Did you know every day your heart beats 115,000 times and pumps 2,000 gallons of blood?
The human heart is an incredible machine, and experts like Dr. Frank S. Kim help make sure it keeps doing its job.
As a cardiologist, Dr. Kim works with patients to prevent heart disease and treat pre-existing cardiac conditions to reduce the risk for adverse cardiac events. Dr. Kim has also pursued further training as an interventionalist, which means he also does invasive procedures like angioplasty and stenting.
He joined the team at Freeman Heart and Vascular this January. He chose Freeman because he wanted to practice in a place with support and engagement from a locally rooted administration.
“At Freeman, our administrators and CEO live here in town, they’re my neighbors,” he said. “I truly believe their interests are deeply ingrained in what is best for this community. I think that local needs are best understood by local people.”
As an interventionalist, Dr. Kim has saved innumerable lives. His greatest motivation and joy is seeing patients make a full recovery.
“There’s really nothing like having a patient who is in great distress, suffering a major adverse cardiac event like a heart attack, and being able to intervene and watch them get discharged back to their regular lives,” he said. “Knowing you made that difference is everything.”
Dr. Kim earned a B.S. degree with honors in chemistry from the University of California – Berkeley. He attended Medical School at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. While there, he studied under Paul Lauterbur, Nobel Prize winner for developing the MRI.
He spent 11 years practicing in Springfield before coming to Joplin.
Dr. Kim has had many accolades and accomplishments in his career. He served as physician chair of the American College of Cardiology, Advocacy. He was appointed a member of the National Advisory Sub-Committee for Cardiovascular Delivery of Care for the CMS. He was also the physician chair of Cardiovascular Delivery for a 45-acute hospital health care system.
In his free time, Dr. Kim is a lover of music and plays the piano and the guitar. He and his wife have two children, ages 11 and 13, who are both nationally ranked tennis players.