As a young girl, Capt. Kimberly Toone
would spend hours outside playing on
the family farm in Plant City, Florida. She
learned early from her six uncles that if you
weren’t just a little bit tough, you’d miss out
on the fun.
“When I was very little, my uncles would
stand in a circle and toss me to each other,”
Toone said. “If I didn’t hit the ground, they
would spread out a little further and toss
me again. I loved it.”
Toone, a U.S. Navy captain stationed out
of Norfolk, Virginia, was back in Gainesville
in September for her medical school class
reunion and to be honored as one of
the 2017 inductees on the UF College of
Medicine’s Wall of Fame. She said her loving
but rough-and-tumble upbringing helped
her navigate medical school and then rise
through the ranks in the military.
“My family gave me the perspective that
there really are no limits to what you can
do,” said Toone, following the unveiling
ceremony of her plaque on the Wall of
Fame Sept. 15.
36 | F LO R I DA P HYS I C IAN
Toone, from the class of 1997, shared the
honor of 2017 Wall of Fame inductee with
Wake Forest School of Medicine professor
Dr. Pat Ober from the class of 1974. Since
1991, the UF College of Medicine Wall of
Fame award has honored alumni who have
made contributions to medicine, education,
government and the community.
From providing medical aid to those
affected by the 2016 earthquake in Sewon,
Indonesia, to treating sailors aboard
aircraft carriers, Toone’s career has been
characterized by leadership and ingenuity.
“Medical care at sea is really interesting.
Space is limited. There are no specialists.
You have to think, ‘how can I care for this
patient with what I have on this ship?’”
she said. “Being able to take care of Navy
sailors, often in wild and wacky places, has
been amazing.”
Today, Toone serves as force surgeon
for Command, Naval Air Forces Atlantic.
She oversees the manning, training and
equipment for medical services for all the
Navy assets along the Atlantic coast.
Toone, a family medicine doctor with
a master’s degree in public health,
completed a pediatrics internship
at National Naval Medical Center in
Bethesda, Maryland, a family medicine
residency at the Naval Hospital in
Jacksonville and an aerospace
medicine residency in Pensacola. She
said the Wall of Fame induction is a
meaningful recognition.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized for the
work I’ve done with Navy medicine for
sailors and Marines throughout my 20 years
of service,” she said. “It’s exceptional that
UF recognizes a career such as mine, which
is outside the typical realm of clinical or
research work.”
Capt. Toone honored for her service
BY TYLER FRANCISCHINE
1
Capt. Kimberly Toone, MD ’97, at the George T. Harrell, MD, Medical Education Building in September.
PHOTO BY JESSE S. JONES
“My family gave me the
perspective that there
really are no limits to what
you can do.”
— KIMBERLY TOONE, MD ’97
Alumni News