Page 9 - Mountain Medicine Directory - Winter 2017

“It was definitely a different experience being on active duty and having
the military obligations and responsibilities while going through a residency,” Dr.
Borchard says. “It’s given me a very different perspective, being in the military
and serving, and taking care of fellow active duty members and veterans.”
The injuries and wounds that Dr. Borchard dealt with during deployment were
significantly different than those a doctor would normally see in the civilian health
care system. His training and experience was primarily geared towards sports
medicine and dealing with younger active duty cadets, but he found that he
particularly enjoyed older patients and retirees, especially treating arthritis and
performing joint replacement procedures.
“I think that arthritis really tends to rob people of their ability to do many of
the activities that they once enjoyed, and being able to do a joint replacement
and have people get back to activities that they haven’t been able to do for
a long period of time, it’s very rewarding.”
Dr. Borchard explains. “I’m very fond “I’m very
of orthopaedics, and very fond of the
patients.” fond of
To this end, one month after
completing his commitment with the Air orthopaedics,
Force, he moved to Boston to pursue
a fellowship. He wanted to get some and very
additional training to be more versed in
the procedures and the field he wanted fond of the
to pursue, as well as learning to service a
full spectrum of patients. Throughout this patients.”
fellowship, Dr. Borchard performed 930
individual orthopedic and joint procedures
in one year. This included anywhere from
two to seven procedures in a day. While every day was a little bit different, the
procedures were often knee and hip replacements, as well as revision surgeries,
which tend to be much more complex. The experience served as an intensive,
hands-on training experience that allowed him to pursue his passion.
After the yearlong fellowship ended, Dr. Borchard moved back to
Colorado, and he has been back in Meeker for over a year. “I grew up in
Meeker, and my wife, her family is in Meeker. She’s the fourth generation to live in
or around Meeker. We just wanted our kids to grow up in the same environment
we did.”
Compared to the larger locales he inhabited during his years in the armed
forces and his fellowship, he says that he much prefers having a practice in a small
town. “I enjoy seeing my patients. I enjoy running into them at the grocery store
and seeing how they’re doing. A lot of my patients I’ve known for years. I’ve had
patients who were teachers of mine, I’ve had patients whose kids I grew up with, or
whose grandkids I grew up with. I much prefer working in a small town.”
Dr. Kevin Borchard practices at Pioneers Medical Center, in the quiet town of Meeker,
nestled in the White River Valley of northwest Colorado a short 40 miles off of the 1-70 corridor. For
a consultation call Advanced Orthopedics of Northwest Colorado at or view information online at
NWCOorthos.com.

100 Pioneers Medical Center
Drive, Meeker, CO 81641
970.878.9752

NWCOorthos.com