DR. DUGGAL Dr. Mahesh Duggal is the fourth in a series of Wilkes County doctors featured in The News-Reporter.

Dr. Duggal is in his fourth year of medical practice in Washington and Lincolnton. He is a native of India and he and his wife Neena have two children - a three-year-old daughter, Jahnavi; and four-month-old son, Vinayak.

The family came to Washington for Dr. Duggal to practice medicine so that they would be closer to Mrs. Duggal's family members in Augusta and Atlanta. He began his medical career in

1995 at the Christian Medical College in India. He completed a fellowship in geriatrics at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York, in 2002. He was chief resident in Internal Medicine, North Shore University Hospital, Forest Hills, N.Y., in 2001; and did his internship and residency in Internal Medicine there from 1998 to 2000.

He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics by the American Board of Internal Medicine; and is certified by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

He received the outstanding resident award in 2000; the outstanding resident teacher award in 2001; and the excellence in research award in 2001 from North Shore University Hospital. He is a member of the American College of Physicians; American Geriatrics Society; and the American Society of Sleep Medicine. He has had multiple articles published in medical journals.

Dr. Duggal says that living in a small town he is enjoying getting to know his patients and their families well. He likes not having to commute a long distance.

"I strongly encourage people to exercise weekly," the doctor says. "Walking can be pleasurable and enjoyable besides keeping yourself fit. Even 15-20 minutes of walking four or five times a week has substantial health benefits," he says.