Caleb Taylor: New leader, new father

By Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region

Caleb Taylor, the new clinical operations manager for the ICU and PCU at IU Health Saxony, balances his demanding roles at work and home, including caring for his infant son.

Caleb Taylor stays busy. As the new clinical operations manager for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Progressive Care Unit (PCU) at IU Health Saxony, he is getting acclimated to the role and his new team. He is also a full-time youth pastor and working to get his master’s degree in nursing, with a concentration in leadership and healthcare management. On top of all of that, he is a new father to his four-month-old son, Dean.

Before he came to IU Health Saxony, Caleb was a bedside nurse in the ICU at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. He wasn’t thinking about leadership at all, but a series of events set the career move into motion.

"Management was honestly the furthest thing from my radar. It was something I’ve never even asked for, thought of or wanted. I was actually pursuing school to be a nurse practitioner,” he says. "In the back of my mind, I thought leadership would be interesting, but maybe later in life.”

A colleague reached out to Caleb to tell him about a night-shift role at IU Health Saxony. Because of his young son at home, Caleb didn’t think that would be a good fit. When he searched other job openings at the hospital, the leadership role in the ICU and PCU piqued his interest.

"The culture in this hospital was the selling point for me,” he says.

Caleb has been in his new role for eight weeks now. While he is settling in with his team, the new schedule has been tough when it comes to spending time with his son. When Taylor leaves for work, Dean is still asleep, but he does get a small window with Dean when he gets home.

"Most of our time comes from 5 pm to 7:30 pm. Obviously weekends have been great for us,” Caleb says.

The Taylor family is intentional about the time they do get to spend together. Whether it’s hiking, golfing or going to church, they do it as a family. Caleb credits his wife, Mariah, for taking care of Dean while Caleb is at work.

"I couldn’t do any of it without her,” he says.

For Caleb’s first Father’s Day, he will be spending it with his family and his church family. In the morning, he will be preaching at a church event. Later that day, he hopes to go golfing and then enjoy a cookout with his entire family.

While he is enjoying the progression of his life at home, he also has some exciting big changes at work. Caleb joins the IU Health Saxony team as the hospital is in the middle of growth. IU Health's expansion of its Saxony hospital campus is rapidly progressing. It’s part of IU Health’s Fishers Community Impact Project, a $300 million investment into one of the fastest growing communities in the United States. When complete, the hospital will be renamed to IU Health Fishers, and the campus will be nearly twice as big.

"There’s growth at home and growth professionally,” Caleb says.

Though change in any form can be intimidating, he strives to get comfortable being uncomfortable. To him, that’s where growth occurs. But regardless of whether he is spending time at work, at school, at church or at home, Caleb has the same motivation in all aspects of his life.

"There’s nothing I don’t love about taking care of people.”