Mesa View Regional Hospital is proud to welcome Ann L. Henelt, D.O. to the surgical team in Mesquite.

Dr. Henelt has joined Douglas Zinni, D.O. in his office.

With two general surgeons taking care of patients now, everyone can stay close to home for their surgeries.

When Dr. Henelt was a little girl her father worked at home in the evenings to prepare his carousel of slides for presentations.

This task required turning off all the lights in their little living room, so Ann had no choice but to watch what he was doing.

She has never thought about any other career since then.

She’s always been amazed by the human body, and working as a general surgeon in a small community she has a chance to fix many different parts of the body.

“I would be bored as a specialist who does the same surgery all the time,” Henelt said. “Surgery is so rewarding because you actually cure people instead of just treating them.”

Dr. Henelt is a board-certified general surgeon with 16 years of experience.

She joined Dr. Zinni in his office and started seeing patients on June 29.

Dr. Zinni is excited to have another general surgeon in Mesquite because it always bothers him when a patient has to leave Mesquite for surgery if he is out of town for any reason.

He is especially pleased because he helped train Dr. Henelt.

“The community needed another surgeon here, and we hit the jackpot when Dr. Henelt agreed to come," Zinni said. "I know her and know that her patients come first, and that is the only kind of doctor we want here.”

Dr. Henelt received her Doctor of Osteopathy degree from Michigan State University, then completed an internship at Ingham Medical Center in Lansing, Michigan.

Her residency at Richmond Heights General Hospital in Richmond Heights, Ohio included rotations through Cleveland Clinic, Marymont, St. Luke’s and St. Vincent Charity Hospitals.

She has spent most of her professional career at Allegan Medical Clinic in Allegan, Michigan.

Kapua Conley, CEO at Mesa View Regional Hospital, sees a real benefit to the community with Dr. Henelt here.

“It is always better for the patient to stay as close to home as possible for surgery and now our patients will always have a general surgeon available to take care of them," Conley said. "An additional bonus is that she is female, which is good for those patients who would just be more comfortable with a female surgeon in certain circumstances. Plus, Dr. Henelt has gynecology experience and will be able to assist and provide backup for Dr. Ofori.”

One might think that Mesquite’s biggest attraction for Dr. Henelt and her husband, Daniel, is the weather, because they have lived in Michigan most of their lives.

However, Dr. Henelt says that she is just as excited to be associated with such a great group of physicians and hospital staff, and to be part of a community that is extremely friendly and has tremendous potential for growth.

They plan to make Mesquite their permanent home and look forward to learning all about Mesquite and being involved in the community.

Dr. Henelt enjoys reading, gardening, yoga and swimming.

In college she was on the synchronized swimming team and coached the high school team.

She loves music, and you may hear her singing and playing the piano when she’s not in the operating room.

To learn more about Dr. Henelt and the services she provides or to schedule an appointment, you can call her office at (702) 346-1700.