At UofL Health, we have a wide variety of specialties to help meet the various needs of our patients. This includes having a care team dedicated to helping patients who struggle with neurological challenges. Allie Schaber, APRN, is one of these caregivers. Allie is the neurosurgical oncology nurse practitioner for the UofL School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery and UofL Physicians – Neurosurgery.
Allie has been a part of our team for 11 years and began her career in the neuroscience ICU where she worked as a staff nurse and charge nurse. She then worked on the inpatient side as one of the neurosurgery nurse practitioners. This month, she celebrates five years in her current role within neurosurgical oncology.
Every day, Allie cares for patients with nervous system tumors. She also sees general neurosurgery referrals. She spends most of her time in the clinical/outpatient setting and is responsible for coordinating between multiple specialties for follow-up as indicated.
Allie’s favorite part of working for UofL Health is the prioritization of an academic setting.
“There is a common passion for continued learning and research to improve overall patient care,” Allie said. “We avoid settling into a ‘this is how things have always been’ mentality and, as a health care system, we are constantly aiming to provide better care and improve patient outcomes.”
In her role, Allie helped create the area’s only monthly primary brain tumor support group to help connect patients and their loved ones to others with similar experiences. When not on hold due to the pandemic, Allie personally runs the support group. In addition, she created a 24-hour new tumor referral policy, allowing patients to be seen within 24 hours of receiving a referral, regardless of the severity level determined in imaging. She hopes to ease anxiety for patients and work to provide efficient and timely care.
“My hope for UofL Health is to be the pillar health care system in the region, providing the best care to every patient, every time,” Allie said. “My goal is for patients to want to seek care within our institution and trust our organization with all of their healthcare needs.”
Allie lives out the UofL Health mission by working to build personalized, therapeutic relationships with each patient.
“There is no cookie-cutter approach to healthcare, as each case is unique,” Allie explained. “Building a trusting relationship is the foundation of providing compassionate, patient-centered care.”
In her free time, Allie loves to travel with her husband and children. She also enjoys staying active and attending spin classes or going for a run when the weather is nice.
Allie loves having people over to entertain. While she doesn’t claim any award-winning dinner recipes, she says she can put together a mean appetizer spread. If she could eat any food for the rest of her life, she’d pick any type of Mexican food or her grandmother’s famous breakfast casserole. If you’re lucky, she’ll tell you the secret ingredient!
Allie is from Amarillo, Texas, and is a third-generation graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. She moved to Louisville after earning her first degree in biology and chemistry and returned to Missouri to earn a bachelor’s of science degree from Saint Louis University. After two years in the ICU, she decided to pursue her master’s of science in nursing as a family nurse practitioner from Spalding University.
When she’s kicking back and turning on the television, Allie is likely watching The Anatomy of a Scandal or savoring the last season of Ozark. If she’s got music playing, you can count on hearing a children’s movie soundtrack carefully selected by her two- and four-year-old children.
If you see Allie out and about, be sure to say “hello” and introduce yourself. She would love to chat and get to know you!
