Antonio Spates, MD

I grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee. In high school, I played football and participated in student government. In college, I played intramural football and basketball.

My wife Taylor and I have a son and a daughter.

I enjoy spending time with my family and extended family, exercise, watching shows and sports, fantasy football, trying new foods...and, choosing the "alternate route" on Google maps!

Anywhere in the Mediterranean!

I knew I wanted to be a physician after taking anatomy and physiology in college. 

Watching first hand how flexible and supportive my family is during this journey. A close second would be the relationships I built with my coresidents during our training. 

Improving patients’ quality of life. Whether it is fixing their physical pain from a longstanding hernia or easing their emotional stress from a new cancer diagnosis, I strive to make my patients feel better. I enjoy educating patients on their health and the shared-decision making when determining a treatment plan.

We had a patient in residency who had been dealing with chronic pain and symptoms related to diverticulitis (inflammation on small outpouchings of the colon). It was affecting his life significantly to where he could not work or even enjoy his time off. Once it was in agreement that surgery was the best route, we removed the diseased portion. He recovered well and was quickly back to work and enjoying life. Although this is not an extravagant story from the medical perspective, it was great to participate in his improvement in quality of life. 

Southern Indiana has always felt like home to me. My wife grew up in Columbus. We lived there previously, and my son was even born there. Most of our family is still close by. Once I visited Schneck and met the Schneck community, I immediately knew this is where I wanted to be. I look forward to planting my roots here and serving those in the area.