Katie Hornbaker is double board certified in nonsurgical pain management and anesthesia specializing in comprehensive pain management. She is passionate about helping patients restore function, improve quality of life, and return to the activities that matter most through individualized, evidence-based care.
Katie’s passion for pain management began long before her healthcare career. Growing up in Sioux City, Iowa, she discovered her calling as a freshman in high school while participating in a “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” with her father, a trauma surgeon. Watching a pain management CRNA transform a patient’s suffering into relief—and seeing them leave with hope instead of tears—left a lasting impression that ultimately shaped her career.
After graduating from anesthesia school in 2009, Katie began practicing at a Level I trauma center in Omaha, Nebraska, where she gained extensive experience caring for critically injured patients. That experience deepened her understanding of acute pain and inspired her to pursue innovative approaches that minimize opioid use while maximizing patient comfort and recovery. She became an early advocate for multimodal pain management, opioid-sparing techniques, and ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia.
Since relocating to Colorado in 2014, Katie has dedicated her career to serving rural communities. For six years, she was the sole anesthesia provider for Grand and Jackson Counties, where her expertise in opioid-free anesthesia and advanced regional anesthesia techniques earned national recognition and attracted patients from across the country seeking her care.
Recognizing the significant need for specialized pain management services in rural Colorado, Katie founded Grand Pain Specialists in 2022 with the mission of bringing advanced, compassionate pain care closer to home. Through that experience, she developed a comprehensive approach that combines careful diagnosis, medication management, image-guided interventional procedures, and functional restoration to help patients achieve meaningful, lasting improvement.
Katie is excited to continue that mission at MedNOW Clinics, where she provides comprehensive pain management services including advanced medication management, minimally invasive interventional procedures, and innovative therapies such as ketamine infusions, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and regenerative medicine. Drawing on her extensive background in anesthesiology, anatomy, musculoskeletal medicine, ultrasound, and chronic pain management, she develops personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique goals and circumstances.
Katie believes that effective pain management is about far more than reducing pain scores—it’s about restoring independence, improving function, and helping people return to the lives they want to live. She is committed to partnering with each patient to develop compassionate, evidence-based treatment plans that support long-term health, mobility, and wellness.
Outside of medicine, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters, supporting their athletic pursuits, and embracing Colorado’s outdoor lifestyle.