By: Sheila Crowley
Murray County News Staffwriter
Kenneth McDonough, MD is the newest face to join the medical staff at Murray County Medical Center, Slayton.
McDonough specializes in occupational medicine along with family medicine. Currently, McDonough is doing training on MCMC’s computer system. He should be ready to start seeing patients by the middle of September.
McDonough obtained a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Minnesota and furthered to gain an M.S. in Medical Informatics. The health informatics is the practice of acquiring, studying and managing health data and applying medical concepts in conjunction with health information technology systems to help clinicians provide better healthcare. This is a growing field, according to McDonough, as more and more medical records are becoming electronic. “It’s using information through employers and health plans to provide medical management and perhaps target those who might benefit from more pro-active outreach,” said McDonough. An example he used was someone who often visits the ER for perhaps asthma. With this type of information, the medical staff could reach out to them on how to prevent future episodes. He continued, “It’s looking at data to see something that’s happening which is maybe not controlled.” In addition, he hopes to work with larger companies to develop occupational medicine and utilize MCMC.
Following his graduation in ‘79 McDonough did his internship at Hennepin Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. He obtained a master’s degree in public health and then traveled to San Francisco, California where he did two years of residency for occupational medicine.
Despite being born in Buffalo, New York, McDonough is a true Minnesotan, where he was raised and was drawn back to the familiar country following this training. He shared a joke, “What do Buffalo, New York, and Minnesota have in common… snow of course,” he giggled, “and of course, Buffalo and the Vikings are 0-4 in the Super Bowl.” He just smiles as he says, “I’m the reason they can’t win a Super Bowl.” McDonough says no matter where he lived…he was always a Vikings fan.
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