Desert Pain Celebrates One Year Anniversary in Richfield

Desert Pain Specialists, a pain management clinic bringing innovative solutions to communities throughout Southern Utah and beyond, is celebrating one year of serving patients in Richfield. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at their Main Street office on Tuesday, Dec. 3, commemorating a significant advancement in the availability of specialty care for local patients.

Already the area’s most established pain clinic, Desert Pain expanded into Richfield in late 2023 after identifying it as a community in urgent need of access to pain management services. Many central Utah patients were previously traveling to Cedar City for treatment, a commute of more than 115 miles each way.

“Our administrative teams in St. George and Cedar City have loved being a part of the growth here in Richfield, and together, we’re committed to serving this community for many years to come,” said Heidi Turnbeaugh, Desert Pain’s Cedar City office administrator. “We’re excited to continue this journey.”

The Richfield office is led by experienced nurse practitioner Megan Shepherd. A central Utah native and Richfield local, Shepherd graduated from Weber State University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and later earned her master’s degree through the family nurse practitioner program at United States University in San Diego, California.

Shepherd has worked with virtually every patient population during her extensive career, including pediatric, adult and geriatric patients. She spent 16 years in critical care, six years in oncology and wound care, and a year and a half in family practice before shifting her focus to pain management, where she enjoys working closely with patients and getting to know their stories and backgrounds.

Shepherd is invested in and committed to serving rural communities. Along with seeing patients in Richfield, she regularly travels to Desert Pain’s clinics in Panguitch, Beaver, Delta and Fillmore.

The Richfield office provides a variety of outpatient pain management options, including epidural steroid injections, trigger point injections, radiofrequency ablations and treatments for migraine. Appointments for new and current Desert Pain patients are available now.

“If you have pain, we have treatments for it,” Shepherd said. “We’re excited to offer quick access to care for patients who are waiting for relief.”

The Richfield clinic also allows patients who have undergone more intensive procedures at another Desert Pain location to complete their follow-up visits closer to home. Recognizing that every person’s pain journey is unique, they offer medication management as well.

Furthermore, Desert Pain is committed to serving those who have served their country. The Richfield location is the only provider in the area that works with the VA to treat veterans for an array of pain conditions.

“Pain management isn’t one-size-fits-all for people,” Shepherd said. “Even if they think they’ve exhausted all the possibilities to treat their pain, we may have something new that they haven’t tried before.”

Treating chronic pain is a difficult undertaking, and especially so for people with limited access to the quality care they need. Desert Pain is on a mission to serve rural communities throughout the region as they help more and more patients successfully navigate the complexities of pain management.

“We’ve truly enjoyed the past year of growth in Richfield and are incredibly grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received from this amazing community,” Turnbeaugh said. “It’s been an exciting journey, and we’ve seen firsthand how the support and kindness of the people here have helped us thrive. As we continue to grow, we’re looking forward to deepening our connection with Richfield and contributing to its growth in meaningful ways.”

Offering an unmatched standard of care, the specialists at Desert Pain are dedicated to helping patients find relief from a wide range of chronic and acute pain conditions using all available resources, including injections, nerve blocks, regenerative medicine, physical therapy, medications and surgery. Although it isn’t possible to get every patient completely out of pain, many experience significant, even life-changing improvement.

The clinic is headquartered within a state-of-the-art facility at the Riverfront Medical Center in St. George. And with 10 satellite locations throughout Southern Utah and Nevada’s Moapa Valley, they’re prepared to serve the needs of the area’s growing population.

Visit desertpainspecialists.com or call 435-238-7000 to schedule an appointment.