KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Jan. 10, 2013) – DOCARE International honored Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences faculty member Gautam J. Desai, D.O., FACOFP, as the recipient of the Robert A. Klobnak Award on Oct. 11, 2012, at the closing ceremony for the Osteopathic Medical Conference and Exposition in San Diego.

The Robert A. Klobnak Award is presented each year in recognition of an individual’s outstanding accomplishments within DOCARE International, a medical outreach organization dedicated to providing health care to indigent and isolated people in remote areas around the world.

Desai, associate professor of family medicine at KCUMB, received the 2012 award for his exceptional and tireless work in helping the medically underserved, most particularly in Central America.

Desai’s commitment to service abroad has been exhibited by his leadership of medical mission trips to Guatemala with KCUMB osteopathic medical students for the past 13 years and to Dominican Republic for five years.

Desai credited KCUMB for its commitment to providing osteopathic medical students with opportunities and experiences in making a difference in the health, welfare and development of underserved communities, both globally and locally.

“I am fortunate to be associated with KCUMB, an institution with the commitment and resources to help abroad, particularly in Guatemala and Dominican Republic,” Desai said. “Our students can experience firsthand the challenges of delivering health care on a global scale, in often challenging conditions.”

Desai earned a doctor of osteopathic medicine from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a life member of DOCARE International and currently serves as vice president of the organization.

About KCUMB
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is a fully accredited, private university, with a College of Biosciences and a College of Osteopathic Medicine. Founded in 1916, its College of Osteopathic Medicine is the oldest medical school in Kansas City, Mo., and the largest in the state.