Dr. Steven Harder set to retire from Sanford Health Clinic-Mountain Lake
Dr. Steven M. Harder recently announced that, after serving the Mountain Lake area as a family practice health care specialist for the past 24 years, he will be retiring from practicing medicine, effective December 31, 2016.
Dr. Harder states that, “It has been my honor and a privilege to serve you the past 24 years. I want to assure you that my colleagues and the staff at Sanford Mountain Lake are here to continue to partner with you in meeting your health care needs.”
Throughout his career as a physician, Harder’s mission was, “To care for the whole family from birth to old age.”
He officially arrived to serve patients from the Mountain Lake clinic on January 1, 1993. As Dr. Harder explains, “I came Halloween weekend in 1992 and spent two days covering the clinic for Dr. Alvin Wiens. I was here to visit Judy and our children, Esther, Nathan and Tim. They had preceded me by four months to start school in September.”
Dr. Harder grew up and attended school in the Redwood Falls area, but at the time already had strong ties to the area, as his father is a Mountain Lake native, and the family attended First Mennonite Church.
He graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis in 1980, and served his residency at Hennepin County Medical Center, also located in Minneapolis. Dr. Harder had hospital training in Thailand and Burkina Faso, and studied a tropical medicine course in Antwerp, Belgium. In addition to English, he is fluent in French and Spanish.
Over his past 36 years of practicing medicine, Dr. Harder has had many diverse experiences, especially in family practice and geriatric medicine. His board certifications with the American Board of Family Medicine include family practice, obstetrics and dermatology.
During his tenure at Sanford Mountain Lake, he has been affiliated with many hospital, including Windom Area Hospital and Mayo Clinic Health Systems-St. James, and has cooperated with other doctors and specialists in the medical group Sanford Clinic.
Dr. Harder has run over 20 marathons and enjoys woodworking, photography, foreign languages, gardening, as well as teaching, coaching and directing chess tournament.
Despite not being directly involved with the care and well-being of his patients, Dr. Harder, in his “retirement,” will play an indirect role and continue to toast your health by promoting a healthy lifestyle. In 2017, he will bump up from part-time worker to full-time farmer in a family venture begun over five years ago – Jubilee Fruits and Vegetables – along with Jubilee Market and Peacemeals. Jubilee uses natural methods of production, avoiding synthetic pesticides and herbicides, in order to manage their diversified farm in a more holistic manner.
With care and cultivation – whether patient or plant- Dr. Harder nurtures the best out of each.
