Our physicians are experts... and great people too!
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.