A 1983 Kansas City University (KCU) College of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus Floyd Jones, DO, has spent more than four decades caring families in rural Louisiana—a career defined by service, compassion and gratitude for the education that set him on his path.
He didn’t initially plan to pursue medical school. His love of animals inspired dreams of becoming a veterinarian, until a severe cat allergy forced him to change course. In 1967, during the Vietnam War, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a hospital corpsman in the Gulf of Tonkin. His early surgical experience—ironically learned from a veterinarian he once worked for—prepared him to assist in operating rooms aboard ship.
After completing his military service, Jones continued working as a pipeline medic in the Gulf of Mexico, taking college classes whenever he could. Eventually, he realized his passion for medicine ran deeper. “It seemed a shame to waste all that medical training,” he recalls with a smile.
At the urging of a pre-med advisor, he applied to KCU, then known as the University of Health Sciences. He applied, was accepted and began to chart his new course in 1979.
“The winters were tough and the buildings were old,” he said. “But everyone was kind, the instructors were great and you couldn’t ask for better people in the administration.”
Following graduation and an internship at Charles E. Still Osteopathic Hospital in Jefferson City, Missouri, Jones and his wife returned to Louisiana to complete his residency at E.A. Conway Hospital, which is now affiliated with Oschner LSU Health.
“I was the first osteopathic physician in that program,” Dr. Jones chuckled. “I had a thriving manipulation practice on the side.”
His medical education was made possible through a public health service scholarship which covered tuition in exchange for a commitment to practice in an underserved area. That obligation turned into a lifelong calling. Jones began his career in Columbia, Louisiana—a town of approximately 5,000 residents—where he cared for patients of all ages and performed a wide range of procedures, from delivering babies to endoscopies.
Today, Jones continues to practice family medicine in rural Louisiana, limiting his patient load to about 15 per day so he can spend ample time with each one.
“In a rural area, medicine is generational. A lot of my early patients are gone now, but I'm seeing their children and grandchildren,” he said.
Although he never pursued medicine for financial gain, Jones credits KCU with giving him a career he loves. That appreciation has compelled him to serve as a member of the Gold Society for the last 20 years. More recently, he has directed his IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs) to KCU, combining philanthropy with meaningful tax advantages.
Through his generosity, Jones ensures that new generations of osteopathic physicians have the same opportunities he had years ago.
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