Nov. 6, 2018

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Dr. Matthew Blake, an Avera Orthopedics orthopedic surgeon.

Name: Matthew H. Blake

Age: 40

Hometown: Charleston, S.C.

Title: Avera Orthopedics orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, cartilage restoration and joint replacement

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

Avera’s mission and values attracted me to their health system, as well as the ability to work with multiple sports teams, athletes and their families.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

My family enjoys the good Midwestern family values. We have found a solid Christian community here. We also enjoy the multiple amenities Sioux Falls offers: great public schools, bike paths and the events center, which brings in different musical artists, the rodeo and sporting events. Even though the community is growing, a small-town feeling still exists. It’s also easy to travel to larger metro areas with direct flights to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas or Orlando.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I find satisfaction in helping injured high school and college athletes as well as weekend warriors get back to competition.

How did you get connected to your industry?

A class in college had me shadow multiple physicians in differing specialties. During my orthopedic rotation, I was introduced to a variety of methods to help alleviate a person’s pain and increase his or her function. I enjoyed the hands-on approach to helping patients. I saw, firsthand, the physician’s ability to use multiple modalities such as anti-inflammatory medications, home and formalized physical therapy, athletic trainers, injections and, if needed, surgery to help improve patients’ quality of life. After that rotation, I knew this was what I wanted to do. 

Describe Avera in three words.

Innovative, compassionate, dedicated.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

Chick-fil-A or an indoor climbing facility.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

We will be in the new surgical hospital and orthopedic clinic on the Avera on Louise health campus around this time next year. Within the next several years, I hope to take a larger leadership role at Avera Orthopedics. In addition, I would like to see Avera’s sports medicine program expand into more middle schools, high schools and colleges in Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities.

Currently, I work with the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine teaching medical students about orthopedic care. I would eventually like to train orthopedic residents and possibly sports medicine fellows in the orthopedic surgery and sports medicine field.

I will continue to spend my off time cherishing my wife and family. Within five years, one child will be in college, another graduating high school, another in high school and two in middle school.