(Okoboji)– A retired cardiologist who now lives in the Iowa Great Lakes has received a prestigious award. Dr. Pat O’Brien of Okoboji was recently honored by Sanford Health with the “Physician Pioneer Award”. Dr. O’Brien tells KUOO news he was very humbled to receive the recognition…
“Well it was very gratifying for Sanford to remember contributions that I might have made. It was amazing for me to witness the growth in medical care at Sioux Falls during my time there. It’s also been a pleasure at this time in my life to involve myself in the lakes community.”
Dr. O’Brien attended Creighton University Medical School and did his training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for Internal Medicine and Cardiology, and worked in Cardiology at Mayo another five years, before moving to Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls…
“At that time there was no cardiology practice in the state of South Dakota, so my friends and I started the practice of cardiology in South Dakota in Sioux Falls and as that went along that business really built and we took care of a lot of patients for both cardiac diagnosis and for heart surgery. As things evolved in Sioux Falls, it became quite a medical center for both Avera and Sioux Valley back then, involved in it, but as turned to Sanford, I worked for Sanford as a cardiologist and we started a group of cardiologists there and I practiced in total in Sioux Falls for about 30 years.”
Dr. O’Brien then served in several administrative capacities, serving as Sanford Health Vice President of Physician Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Sanford World Clinics and President of Sanford USD Medical Center.
Upon his retirement, Dr. O’Brien and his wife Jody moved to the Iowa Great Lakes in 2015.
Dr. O’Brien also gave us his thoughts regarding the COVID-19 pandemic…
“I’m just as frightened as all of us about the possibilities. I think we’re lucky so far in Iowa, in this part of Iowa, but we do have to play the rules and it’s kind of difficult, especially as spring comes here, not to socialize and not to be outside doing the things that we like. But I think from a medical standpoint, if we do this, maybe we can plug this sort of situation and get it over with sooner. You hope so. I just hope that a vaccine develops because even if this spike is blunted there will still people without immunity to this virus, and if they develop a vaccine I’d encourage everyone, when the vaccine is available, to use it.”
Dr. Pat O’Brien currently serves as Chairman of the Okoboji Foundation. His wife, Jody, is active with the Pearson Lakes Art Center.
