Ben Harrold Knecht MD, FACS

Wenatchee Rotary knows Ben Knecht as a skilled surgeon at the Wenatchee Valley Clinic, where he has practiced since 1972, and some know that he is the Medical Director at Cascade Hospital and Surgery Center. His life might look quiet and secure as was his youth in Rapid City, South Dakota.

But after obtaining his M.D. degree at Univ. of Iowa and before he started his Surgical Residency, the Vietnam era military claimed his service for three years, first to the Department of Surgery at San Diego Naval Hospital, followed by 3 months in Vietnam and 2 years submarine tender's surgeon and medical officer in Holylock, Scotland.

For some of Ben's experiences and thoughts about those times, see pages 78-79 in "Honor By Listening", an Eastmont High School Junior Honors English and Community Project, interviewing "The Greatest Generation", March 1999-June 1999.

Ben's medical career extended far beyond being a skilled surgeon to participating in many medical organizations, such as:

• The American Medical Association where he focused on policy making to reduce governmental influence on medical decision-making.
• The Washington State Medical Association, dealing with the practice of medicine in Washington State, with a special interest in legal issues and malpractice concerns.

While Ben has been a Rotarian since 1973, and is a Paul Harris Sustaining Member, his profession has been his priority. Improving the quality of medicine has been an important direction of his efforts:

• As a Clinical Professor at the UW Department of Surgery he gave new surgeons clinical experience and participated in their examination tests.
• His surgical writings have appeared five times in professional publications including the American Journal of Surgery.
• His interest in medical information involved participation in the Governor's Conference on Libraries.
• He served on the Advisory Committee of the National Library of Medicine.
• Ben is Chairman of the Medical Records and Information Systems at Wenatchee Valley Clinic.

Ben married a 'blind date' at the Univ. of South Dakota in 1961 and, with Jane, raised a son and a daughter. John is with a major S.F. advertising agency and Janelle Ann is an Interior Designer with Callison Architects.

For recreation, Ben has skied Chamonix, France, The Dolomites in Northern Italy and Mission Ridge. He backpacks in the Cascades and looks forward to floating the Colorado through the Grand Canyon in May, after his daughter's April wedding.

Recognition of Ben Harrold Knecht can be found in Who's Who in the West, 1989 to present; Who's Who in America, 2000 and Who's Who in Health Care, 2000.

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