Meet Kirti Patel, MD, CCH August 2018 Provider of the Month

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Meet Kirti Patel, MD, the Campbell County Health August 2018 Provider of the Month.

Lots of things have changed in Gillette, Wyoming since Dr. Patel arrived in 1991. He remembers walking from the Tower West Lodge (where he was initially staying) to Campbell County Memorial Hospital to see his patients. Back then Campbell County Health had 600 employees, compared to the more than 1,200 employees today.

Dr. Patel was born in the Indian state of Gujarat, and qualified to train either as a physician or a pharmacist. He initially chose Pharmacy, but laughs as he says he only lasted a week in the Pharmacy program because it was too confusing. After completing medical school at the Medical College of Baroda in India, he came to the United States and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ.

Former CEO Don Shouse recruited Dr. Patel to Gillette, along with his colleague Dr. Amin Rasul. Both were amazed at the wide open spaces of Wyoming and lack of people compared to New Jersey. Dr. Patel tells his patients that life is a terminal illness, and that what’s important is how you get there. He jokes that he will probably die at his desk because he enjoys his interactions with patients and doesn’t really see retirement as an option. It’s all worth it for Dr. Patel if one patient a month tells him that he helped them make a positive change in their health.

Dr. Patel and his wife Ila have two sons, Rishi, who is in his second year of a general surgery residency at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Wash; and Keyur, who works for ReMax in Gillette. Keyur and his wife Carly have a one-year old son, Navik, whose name means “navigator.”

Thank you Dr. Patel, for providing our patients with excellent care.