Meeker

Dr. Asem Bakkar, general surgeon, joins PMC staff

Dr. Asem Bakkar
Dr. Asem Bakkar
MEEKER I Pioneers Medical Center (PMC) is welcoming a new general surgeon this week as Dr. Mohammad Asem Bakkar, who prefers the use of his middle name, Asem, began seeing patients on Wednesday.

Bakkar, 46, comes to Meeker after spending six years in a surgical residency with Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in Phoenix, Ariz.
Bakkar’s training and specialties there were open appendectomies, colon and rectal surgeries, various hernia repairs, thyroidectomies and gall bladder and stomach surgeries. He also specialized in small town general surgery training, according to hospital Chief Executive Officer Ken Harman, who said he is very excited to have Bakkar here.
Harman says, “We are so fortunate to find such a talented and super well-trained surgeon who was looking for a rural hospital practice in our neck of the woods. We liked his personality and Asem has long-term ties here.
“He went to undergraduate school at the University of Wyoming, has family in the area and considers the Derby Creek area north of Dotsero, on the southeastern edge of the Flat Tops, his favorite hunting ground. We could hardly be more enthusiastic about him.”
Bakkar went to high school in Lynnwood, Wash., just north of Seattle, where he was an Eagle Scout. After majoring in information management systems at the University of Wyoming and putting in a six-year stint as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he worked for an information technology company, largely out of the Denver area, for 10 years. Bakkar reports that he has brothers, cousins and an uncle who also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Feeling unfulfilled, Bakkar took the necessary prerequisite courses through Arapahoe Community College and then entered medical school at the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine in the Dutch Caribbean, a satellite of The Netherlands. The school changed its name to the American University of Integrated Sciences and moved to the Dutch Caribbean country of St. Maarten in 2013, after Bakkar had graduated.
The school is an American university with an American management company and board leadership comprised of healthcare business and non-profit professionals from across the U.S., according to online sources. After at least 20 months of intense study on campus, Bakkar said students complete their M.D.s through clinical clerkships in healthcare facilities across the U.S. and Canada.
Bakkar completed his clinical rotations at the Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley and the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. He was then off to his surgical residency at the Maricopa County facility.
Bakkar will offer a wide range of surgery services at PMC. In addition to the surgeries listed above, his talents include minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures as well as burn and wound services including skin grafting.
Harman indicated that he expects Bakkar will spend 40 to 50 percent of his time doing colonoscopies, in addition to the other procedures, breast cancer surgeries and reconstructions, and some tonsillectomies.
It’s also expected that through Bakkar, PMC will offer laser body re-sculpting.
For his part, Bakkar said he has “always felt that patients are people, not just numbers, and I am a person, not just a phone number in the book. Rural medicine is the ability to provide professional services to a community under the grounds of relationship medicine. ”
Bakkar’s wife, Bonnie, who is finishing up her nursing degree in Phoenix, will join him here later this year. He said he’s already made an offer on a house in Sage Hills.
Bakkar said he and Bonnie have two kids who are planning to finish the school year in Phoenix but to enroll in Meeker schools this fall.

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It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line.  The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale.
Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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4 days ago
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
4 days ago
View on Instagram |
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The winning teams and individuals for the 18th annual White River Community Association Buy-Fly Fishing Tournament are as follows. Individual top weight catch was Dave Metrovich and longest fish was Kevin Massey. First place team won by Rio Blanco Abstract: Erik Eckman, Adam Parrett, Dave Metrovich and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Second place team was Drake Consulting: Travis Kaiser, John Douglas, Tony Bartolomucci and Bob Brandeberry. Third place team Mr. Rogers and the Hood (accepted by Doug Rogers) Gary Rogers, Mark Beauchamp, Kyle Schutte and Rick Gunter. The white fish have been frozen and will be served at the annual White River Community Association fish fry fundraiser in June.
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Cowboy Carson Klinzmann on the mound for Meeker at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction last Saturday. Meeker took on the 4A Rifle Bears, losing 11-1, and the Basalt Longhorns, losing 7-3. Read the recap online at ht1885.com.
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