Suresh Khilnani, MD, physician at The Lung Center at Valley View and medical director of Valley View’s Respiratory Therapy department, was honored with the Jason Goodman Provider of the Year award by the Colorado Society for Respiratory Care at their annual meeting on May 1. The award is given annually to a provider who has made an outstanding contribution to and promotion of the profession of respiratory care, in honor of Jason Goodman, a respiratory therapy champion in Denver who passed away in 2018. In his nomination, Dr. Khilnani is described as a compassionate physician who is committed to caring for his patients. “He is involved in patient care whether it be within the hospital or beyond…he nurtures a team of health care professionals to improve the lives of his patients and is always interested in learning about new ideas and equipment from all healthcare practitioners on his team.”
In addition to his practice at The Lung Center, Dr. Khilnani serves as the medical director for the Respiratory Therapy department at Valley View. In this role, he has provided support for the department to expand its services to offer unique diagnostic testing that includes high altitude simulation testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and testing to determine if one has gastroesophageal reflux disease.
The director of Respiratory Therapy, Stephen Rooks, BSRT, RRT-NPS, shares that in addition to his support of the department, Dr. Khilnani has also been instrumental in bringing to fruition a 4-bed sleep center at Valley View, offering adult and pediatric sleep testing and altitude simulation for patients who live at altitudes above 7,000 feet.
Medicine has always been a calling for Dr. Khilnani. “For me, there is no greater victory, no greater achievement, than to help heal an individual from illness.” Prior to coming to Valley View in 2015, Dr. Khilnani spent 25 years in private pulmonology practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also spent ten years teaching future physicians at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine.