Increased demand for local medical services has prompted Livingston HealthCare
to add several new providers to its existing roster, specifically in the
areas of general surgery, orthopedics, family practice, internal medicine
and emergency room. Additional hiring for still more providers is ongoing.
Joining the team full time are: Warren Liebers, MD; Justin Roberts, MD;
Kyra Piñango, MD; Henry Piñango, MD; Gregg Schellack, DO
and Russell Saari, PA-C.
Warren Liebers, MD, joins the LHC Emergency Department with a well-demonstrated affinity
for high pressure situations. Liebers works as an ER physician along with
operating an aviation business in Three Forks where he instructs would-be
pilots and lives with his wife. Originally from Nebraska, Liebers had
an early passion for flying airplanes, beginning in his adolescent years
and he has held a commercial license since 2001.
Liebers received his undergraduate degree from Kearny State College (now
University of Nebraska at Kearny) where he studied wildlife biology, he
later enrolled and graduated from University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston and completed his residency in Minot, North Dakota. He is board
certified in Family Medicine.
Liebers ran a private family practice in Conrad, Montana for several years
before moving to Butte, Montana to work as an emergency medicine physician.
Lieber later moved to Homer, Alaska to work as an emergency medicine physician
and also a commercial tundra pilot.
Emergency room medicine and aviation, according to Liebers, combines the
similar practice of situational awareness, calm in high pressure situations
as well as the checklist of procedures necessary for successful resolution.
Justin Roberts, MD is a board certified surgeon who comes to LHC from Texas Tech University,
Lubbock. Roberts has previously worked as an Associate Professor of Surgery,
supervising residents and teaching while also serving as a surgeon at
a Level 1 trauma and regional burn center. Prior to teaching, Roberts
ran a private practice and worked in general ER surgery and trauma coverage
at Hendrick Medical Center, Abilene, Texas.
Roberts earned his Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and his doctoral
degree from Texas Tech, Lubbock, while finishing his internship and residency
in general surgery at University of Oklahoma, Tulsa. Roberts has received
numerous awards in teaching and mentoring while working as a surgeon.
He is an avid outdoorsman and a licensed pilot.
Kyra Piñango, MD a Livingston native, returns to her hometown as a family practice physician
specializing in obstetrics in the LHC Clinic. Kyra studied at Walla Walla
University in Washington state, transferring to and earning her degree
from Union College, Lincoln, Neb. She received her medical degree from
Loma Linda University, Calif.
Kyra made the choice to become a physician after a mission trip to an orphanage
in El Salvador while she was still in high school at Mount Ellis Academy
(Bozeman). She says coming home to Livingston as a physician was always
part of her plan. “These are my people. I couldn’t be happier
to take care of my community as a physician and of course, finally come
home.” A welcomed addition to Kyra’s planned homecoming was
bringing along her husband, Henry and their young son, Tiago.
Henry Piñango, MD is a board-certified specialist in Internal Medicine specializing in Geriatrics,
who also has assumed the role of LHC Hospice Medical Director as of Sept.
1. Henry attended high school in Indianapolis and later college at Southern
Adventist University, Collegedale, Tenn., where he earned his degree in
biochemistry. While working as a chemist in a battery factory, Henry realized
he loved to explore how things work, but the lack of human interaction
reminded him of life-affecting experience he had as a young adult. While
still a teen working as an aid in a nursing home, Henry discovered he
had a passion for caring for the aged. This discovery led him to enroll
at Loma Linda University to study medicine and meet his future wife, Kyra.
“Part of what I liked about the idea of moving to Livingston, was
the opportunity I have to serve the older generations here,” Henry
says. “I bring a perspective to geriatric care that includes the
whole picture of health – physical, mental and emotional –
that this population faces.” This population, incidentally, includes
Kyra’s 87-year-old grandfather who still drives a tractor.
Gregg Schellack, DO orthopedic specialist/surgeon, born in Butte and raised in Dillon joins
the LHC Clinic staff with unique insight into diverse populations. Schellack
attended Montana State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s
Degree in political science/pre-law. After working a few years for an
electronics and a motor sports company, Schellack realized he wanted a
little more from his career, so he dusted off his dream of becoming an
orthopedic specialist and returned to MSU to complete his pre-med requirements.
Schellack earned his osteopathic medical degree from Des Moines University, Iowa.
Schellack completed his internship in orthopedics at the Naval Medical
Center, San Diego and his Surgery Residency at Loma Linda University.
His Navy career as an orthopedic surgeon spanned from California to Florida
and abroad to Naples, Italy. While he served as a military surgeon in
California, he also took on extra work as a children’s orthopedic
surgeon, gaining him additional insight into the field. It was at the
Naval Hospital Lemoore where he served as Director of Surgical Services,
that he met Russell Saari, PA. The pair were instrumental in growing the
hospital’s orthopedic unit into the top-producing Naval clinic.
Schellack and his wife Michelle, originally of Great Falls are pleased
to return to their home state to raise their three children.
Russell Saari, PA-C, specializing in orthopedics, was born in Caldwell, Idaho and grew up
in Grand Junction, Colo. Saari earned his Bachelor’s Degree in psychology
from University of Maryland, University College, College Park; Doctor
of Chiropractic from Texas Chiropractic College, Pasadena, Texas; a Bachelor’s
of Medical Science in Physician Assistant, from Midwestern College of
Health Sciences, Glendale, Ariz. Campus and his Masters of Physician Assistant
Science in Family Practice Medicine from University of Nebraska Medical
Center College of Medicine, Omaha.
Saari’s orthopedic career has encompassed 28 years with the United
States Navy, both stateside as well as tours to Africa and Afghanistan.
Saari says orthopedics is a field that is especially interesting to him
because “I like to know and see how things work. I enjoy fixing
things. The difference between fixing fighter jets and people is that
jets merely spit out data, while the connection with people is much more
satisfying.”
All the same, Saari still enjoys tinkering with motors and takes particular
pride in rebuilding suspensions such as his off road 4x4 rock crawler.
“There’s less at stake with machines, but it’s not as
rewarding,” he adds.
Saari and his wife of 30 years, (who is also his high school sweetheart),
were especially drawn to Livingston because they both feel more at home
in a small community. Saari says a small town reminds him somewhat of
the environment in the military in which relationships were cultivated
by proximity. “You see people beyond just the work environment –
the community becomes part of you,” he says.
About Livingston HealthCare: Livingston HealthCare in Livingston, Montana, is a nonprofit, 25-bed critical
access hospital with a Level 4 Community Trauma Facility, a multispecialty
provider clinic, as well as rehabilitation and home-based services. Livingston
HealthCare is an affiliate of the Billings Clinic system.
www.LivingstonHealthCare.org