Doc Talk with Monument Health

Commercial Drivers are an essential part of South Dakota’s economy. However, when you are following a semi-truck on the interstate, or putting your kids on a school bus, you want to be rest assured that the operator won’t suffer a sudden, preventable medical emergency. Chad Storch, D.O., MPH, a board-certified Occupational and Aerospace Physician at Rapid City Clinic, Mount Rushmore Road, provides...

In this replay of Doc Talk with Monument Health, host Mark Houston sits down with Dr. Deanna Lassegard, an emergency medicine physician at Monument Health in Spearfish, to talk about what really happens in the ER around the Fourth of July. Dr. Lassegard breaks down the injuries she sees most, from sparkler burns that reach 1,800 degrees to the serious hand, face, and eye damage caused by mortars a...

Gaddiel Rios, M.D., is the Primary Care Physician at MED360 by Monument Health in Rapid City. Dr. Rios tells Mark Houston about his history of military service and his medical career, including how he was initially drawn to technology and engineering before moving into medicine. As the only Physician at MED360, Dr. Rios covers a wide range of patients who have direct access without many of the int...

Michael Huot, M.D., Anesthesiologist and Medical Director at the Pain Management Clinic in Rapid City is back for his third Doc Talk appearance, this time from a more personal angle. In February, he was Doc Talk host Mark Houston’s anesthesiologist for colorectal surgery, and that experience opens a wide-ranging conversation about what's actually happening while you're under anesthesia. Dr. Huot w...

“When you have an emergency, nothing’s fast enough.” The goal of Rapid City Hospital Emergency Services is to see each patient as fast as possible. As Brook Eide, M.D., Medical Director of Emergency Services, explains in this episode of listener questions, the new Mall Drive Emergency location, open on June 10, will help Rapid City area patients by giving them another emergency room supported by R...

Dr. Brook Eide takes Mark Houston on a walk-through of Monument Health's brand new emergency room on East Mall Drive. From the Saint Barbara Chapel near the entrance to the trauma bay steps from the ambulance doors, Dr. Eide shows what the new facility can do, how it's designed to move patients quickly, and where it fits alongside the main hospital downtown. A first look inside a space built for t...

Step inside the Rapid City Hospital Emergency Department for a walking tour with Brook Eide, M.D., an ER physician with twenty-one years of experience. From the ambulance bay, rooftop helicopter pad, vertical care and trauma resuscitation rooms, Dr. Eide pulls back the curtain on what actually happens behind those sliding doors. Learn what makes Monument Health a Level II Trauma Center, how this E...

We're replaying this one for Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Siri Knutson-Larson of Monument Health Dermatology joins Mark Houston to cover what every South Dakotan should know before summer hits. She walks through basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma, the ABCDEs of checking your moles, why altitude in the Black Hills ramps up UV exposure, and why redheads need to be extra careful. A good one...

It's May, which means it's Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and we're bringing back one of our most important episodes. This is a replay of Episode 92. Dr. Christopher Gasbarre, a board-certified dermatologist and Fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery, joins us to talk about skin cancer, how to protect yourself, and the Mohs procedure, a highly effective technique for removing skin cancer. If...

Luke J. Hushagen, M.D., Internal Medicine Physician at Mt. Rushmore Road Clinic debuts on the Doc Talk podcast to discuss the Rapid City Medical Center Merger with Monument Health. Dr. Hushagen has an established practice in Rapid City and he intends to make the transition as smooth as possible for his patients. He’s eager to continue collaborating with local colleagues while having the continuity...

Cervical cancer often goes undetected simply because the patient had never been screened before. Keely Ulmer, M.D., Gynecologic Oncologist at Monument Health's Cancer Care Institute is aiming to change that, especially for rural and native people. Dr. Ulmer joins Mark Houston to talk about what kinds of cancer are most common for women and how she’s working towards improving access to care. Increa...

When you are hospitalized, it’s likely that a Hospitalist will be the “quarterback” physician of your care team. Matthew Werpy, D.O., is a Hospitalist andMedical Director for Hospital Medicine at Rapid City and Spearfish Hospitals. In this episode, Dr. Werpy shares his background and training. He outlines how the relatively recent specialty of hospitalist came to be and how they function at Monume...

In this episode of Doc Talk, Chaston Ellis, D.O., Psychiatrist at Behavioral Health in Rapid City, speaks on Monument Health’s efforts to increase access to psychiatric treatment and mental health care in the Black Hills. Dr. Ellis shares a bit about his background and motivations for pursuing psychiatry and gives perspective on how social media might be complicating anxiety disorders, while simul...

“Palliative care is always available,” says Jennifer Eitingon, M.D., fellowship-trained Palliative Care Physician at Home Health and Hospice in Rapid City. Dr. Eitingon joins host Mark Houston to explain how palliative care is a specialty and not just a part of hospice care. In treating patients experiencing life-limiting conditions, Dr. Eitingon helps to improve quality of life through pain manag...

Alan Langnas, D.O., Chief, Division of Transplant Surgery at Nebraska Medicine, discusses how his transplant team serves patients across a multi-state region that includes the Black Hills. Major medical advances like improvements in organ‑preservation technology and First-Person legislation have helped make organ donation safer and more reliable. However, there remains a need for organ donation. D...

Some Primary Care Physicians are trained specifically in Pediatrics to treat babies and kids; some are trained in Family Medicine to treat adolescents and adults. Med-Peds doctors like Marissa Copas Weaver, M.D., an Internal Medicine - Pediatrics Physician and Eammon Grosek, M.D., a Primary Care and Internal Medicine Physician, both of Rapid City Clinic, Flormann Street, have specific training to...

Did you know that there are around 100 different surgeries for bunions? In this informative, interactive episode, recorded live at the Matthews Art Center in Spearfish, Colin Zdenek, DPM, FACFAS, fellowship-trained Foot and Ankle Surgeon and Podiatrist at Spearfish Clinic, North 10th Street, discusses why bunions happen and how finding the right kind of shoe can be one of the most helpful treatmen...

Joint longevity is important. Fortunately, there are things we can do to keep our joints healthy well into the late stages of life. In this episode, recorded live at Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo, David Woodard, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon at Orthopedic & Specialty Hospital in Rapid City, says that good cartilage health and preservation usually mean maintaining a healthy weight and consistent...

Spider veins and varicose veins are common. However, they can be problematic and cause pain or discomfort. Recorded live in front of an audience at Matthews Opera House in Spearfish, Nicholas Czosnyka, M.D., General Surgeon at Spearfish Clinic, North Avenue, explains poor vein outflow, or venous insufficiency and how that relates to varicose veins. He gives tips on when to seek treatment and clari...

A special, interactive Doc Talk event recorded live in front of an audience at The Monument in Rapid City in honor of Valve Disease Awareness Day. Joseph Tuma, M.D., FACC, FSCAI, Interventional Cardiologist at Heart and Vascular Institute leads a discussion in which guests and audience members alike share stories of their Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures. Don’t miss out on...

Recorded live at a special Heart Month Event at Rapid City Hospital, Luis Hernandez, M.D., FACC, Cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Institute and Medical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure program speaks with Renea, a patient who received a heart and kidney transplant just under a year ago.   Renee recounts what led up to Dr. Hernandez’s recommendation for a heart transplant and...

Recorded live in front of an audience at the famous Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo in Rapid City. Joseph Tuma, M.D., FACC, FSCAI, Interventional Cardiologist at Heart and Vascular Institute, joins Mark Houston for a fascinating conversation regarding peripheral vascular disease, which is when cholesterol builds up in arteries other than those that are in the heart. Knowing the symptoms and early...

Within their subspecialty of electrophysiology, Kelly Brandsted, CNP, and Rebecca Bierle, CNP, both of the Heart and Vascular Institute in Rapid City, see many heart disease patients. It is an under-reported fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Symptoms can present differently in women than in men, which can lead to heart events being misdiagnosed. Kelly and Rebecc...

If you suffer from the mental, physical and emotionally challenging problem of restless leg syndrome (RLS), you are not alone. Catherine Fernandez Aristy, M.D., fellowship-trained Family Sleep Medicine Physician and Jessica Hutchinson, CNP, both of Monument Health Neurology and Rehabilitation in Rapid City speak with interim host Leslie Hopton about the most common sensory motor-related sleep diso...

You may be ligament lax; that doesn’t mean you’re abnormal.” Eric Krohn, D.O., Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon and Codi Grable, PT, CLT, Physical Therapist, both of Orthopedic & Specialty Hospital in Rapid City join interim host Leslie Hopton to inform you about ligament laxity. Also known as hypermobility (and not to be confused with flexibility) ligament laxity can be genetic. Dr. Krohn and Cod...