La Quinta doctor honored as Veteran of Year in Sacramento

Captain Stephen R. Steele was named Veteran of the Year for the 42nd District by Assemblyman Chad Hayes (R-Yucca Valley) during the Assembly’s 10th Annual Veterans Recognition Luncheon in Sacramento.

Captain Steele, also known as Dr. Steele, is the co-director and founding member of the Eisenhower E365 medical group in La Quinta, Calif. He has practiced medicine for 31 years and was in private practice in Palm Desert for 14 years before joining Eisenhower.

Steele served more than 30 years in the United States Navy and Navy Reserves, completing tours as a squadron flight surgeon for multiple missions, both as a reservist and while on active duty. He was mobilized to active duty in 2003, and then once again in 2013, serving at Camp Pendleton Navy Medical Center and then in Kabul, Afghanistan as the chief medical officer for International Security Assistance Force.

“Captain Steele is a dedicated servant of this great country and it is my pleasure to honor him as the Veteran of the Year,” said Mayes. “It is with great bravery and allegiance that Captain Steele served not only in tours overseas but also as a devoted doctor at home.”

Prior to moving to the Coachella Valley, Steele was the medical director of Telluride Medical Center in Colorado. He and his wife, Lynanne, have two children who will both graduate from college this springs.