DATE: May 29, 2025—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: Allison Gergley, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center
1000 Rush Drive, Salida, CO 81201 Email: Allison.gergley@hrrmc.net
Tel.: 719-530-2217 Fax: 719-530-2232
HRRMC welcomes Orthopedic Hand Specialist Rita Baumgartner, M.D. to medical staff
SALIDA, Colo.—Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) is delighted to welcome Orthopedic Surgeon Rita E. Baumgartner, M.D., to its medical staff.
Dr. Baumgartner specializes in Orthopedic and trauma surgery of the hand, wrist and elbow. She will see patients for clinic appointments at the Buena Vista Health Center (BVHC) in Buena Vista, as well as at the Outpatient Pavilion on HRRMC’s main campus in Salida. Dr. Baumgartner will also be part of the BVHC weekday Orthopedic walk-in clinic, which is open on a first-come, first-served basis from 1-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Having a hand specialist on our orthopedic team has been a goal for some time, as it allows us to offer more comprehensive orthopedic services,” said HRRMC President John Tucker. “We are beyond happy Dr. Baumgartner has joined our team to help us treat patients in northern Chaffee County as well, to allows many patients to remain in the Arkansas River Valley for their care.”
Dr. Baumgartner earned her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. She completed her residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, as well as a fellowship in Hand Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Additionally, Dr. Baumgartner conducted research at the Institute for Global Orthopedics and Traumatology at the University of California San Francisco for a year between her third and fourth years of medical school.
Dr. Baumgartner grew up in Boulder, Colorado and is excited to call Chaffee County home. When not performing surgeries or seeing patients in clinic, Dr. Baumgartner enjoys hiking and snowboarding, and hopes to start mountain biking and fly fishing.
To make an appointment with Dr. Baumgartner in Buena Vista, call (719) 395-9048. For appointments with Dr. Baumgartner in Salida, call (719) 530-2000. For more information about the HRRMC Orthopedic clinic, visit hrrmc.com.
