( Southwest Medical Center) Southwest Medical Center is proud to announce the arrival of orthopedic and sports medicine physician, Pingal Desai, M.D., to the Liberal community. Dr. Desai joins SWMC’s new Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Care Center.

Dr. Desai was born and raised in India. He says his father, a dermatologist, and mother, an OB/GYN physician, both contributed to his interest in pursuing the field of medicine.

“When I was a kid, I used to help my mom and dad in the hospital by bringing patients in and out for their visits,” Desai said. “That experience at a young age encouraged me to go into medicine.”

Dr. Desai explained that orthopedic medicine and surgery has always held a special interest to him.

“In India, orthopedics was always more of an ‘emergency’ specialty. I watched one of my cousins go through a lot of hardship for treatment of a fractured elbow,” he said. “That really motivated me to fill a need in the world for orthopedic care.”

Dr. Desai completed medical school and orthopedic residency in India before spending more than a decade practicing medicine in academic and private hospitals. In 2007, he moved his family to the United States and has worked in multiple fellowship programs to further his skills and training, including the areas of musculoskeletal oncology, sports medicine, orthopedic trauma, metabolic bone diseases, and joint replacement. He also earned distinction as a Certified Wound Specialist Physician from the American Board of Wound Management in 2016.

Southwest Medical Center President and CEO, Bill Ermann, says Desai’s role on the medical team is important to keeping quality healthcare close to home.

“Dr. Desai comes to us with a broad range of skills and experience,” Ermann said. “We were very selective in finding an orthopedic surgeon with a sports medicine background so we could bring these services back to Southwest Kansas. Having Dr. Desai on our team gives our community more access to quality orthopedic services, especially for emergency cases.”

Dr. Desai says practicing at Southwest Medical Center will allow him the opportunity to address a variety of patient needs.

“Liberal has a very young population, and many people here play some type of sport. There are many sports medicine issues related to orthopedics, so I want to help patients in this community heal,” Desai explained. “I would also like to help patients using the Wound Care Center here, especially with our diabetic population. I’m here to share my knowledge and experience with my patients to help them reach the best outcome they can, whether it involves surgery or another therapy.”

“In India, I lived in a small town,” Desai added. “Like my hometown, people here are cooperative and they know you by name and face. Everyone in Liberal and at this hospital is very friendly, so I’m excited to come here and be a part of this community.”

Dr. Pingal Desai has joined the new Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Care Center located at 305 W. 15th Street, Suite 102 inside the Medical Office Building at Southwest Medical Center. Dr. Desai accepts new patients and most major insurances, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medicare, and Kansas and Oklahoma Medicaid. For questions about services provided by Dr. Desai, or to make an appointment, please call (620) 624-0732.