Dr. Donald Wingert and the Surgical Institute of South Dakota Meet Rural Surgery Needs

The Surgical Institute of South Dakota is committed to rural patient care and providing outreach services that are a key benefit to some remote Midwest areas. Dr. Donald Wingert, a board certified surgeon, provides such services for the communities of Flandreau, South Dakota and Hendricks, Minnesota.

Dr. Wingert has been a surgeon with the Surgical Institute since the start of his medical career in 1988. In 1994, he began outreach services in Flandreau, a town of 2,500 residents north of Sioux Falls, at its clinic and 18-bed critical access hospital, Flandreau Avera Hospital. Here, Dr. Wingert sees patients twice a month and performs procedures in their operating room. At Hendricks Community Hospital, he performs simpler procedures, like endoscopies. 

“I provide outreach surgery and procedures on an outpatient basis at those hospitals, such as endoscopies and colonoscopies, and treat hernias, gall bladders and small skin lesions,” he explained. “I also see new patients who will need to be referred to Sioux Falls for other procedures.” 

Heather Hubbell, director of patient care at Avera Flandreau Hospital, said, “Working in rural medicine, it’s not always easy to provide all the services our community needs. We have a lot of elderly patients, and Dr. Wingert’s visits prevent them from having to travel. It also gives our providers a chance to collaborate on patient care plans with him. They work closely with Dr. Wingert and will refer patients to other specialists if he can’t provide the service they need.”

Hubbell said Dr. Wingert’s bimonthly visits are a comfort for the residents in and around Flandreau. “It’s a significant benefit for us,” she said. “He’s a very well trusted and known surgeon in our community, as he’s been coming here for more than 20 years. We are able to provide people local access when normally they’d have to drive 30-40 miles if these options were not available here.”

Dr. Wingert worked with his Sioux Falls medical group, which helped start up the Level II trauma center at Avera Health, doing trauma and acute surgeries, for 28 years before deciding he’d prefer a less hectic pace. 

Now semi-retired, Dr. Wingert said, “About five years ago, after working with that medical group for much of my career, I retired from a more active role in Sioux Falls because I was ready to slow down. I chose to continue to go to both Hendricks and Flandreau because I enjoy it so much. The people I work with and treat there appreciate the care.” 

“The service he provides is so very important to our community and he is someone whom so many know and trust, people feel comfortable getting the care they need,” Hubbell added. 

Dr. Donald Wingert is board certified in general surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Kansas University. In addition, Dr. Wingert has served in many roles at Avera McKennan Hospital including chief of staff, chair of the Department of Surgery, and member of the Board of Trustees. He has also served as the South Dakota chair of the Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgeons.

An avid huntsman, Dr. Wingert has hunted grizzly bears, black bears, sheep, moose and elk. He has a section of farmland game preserve and is planting his own native grasses and tree belts near his hometown of Garretson. He and his wife, Jane, live in Sioux Falls and have two sons, Anthony and Joe.