This Independence Day, as the skies above Southern Utah light up with fireworks and music superstar Brett Young headlines a night of patriotic revelry at the 99.9 KONY Country Fourth of July Celebration, Desert Pain Specialists will be honored to stand alongside the community it proudly serves.
For Desert Pain’s founder, St. George native Dr. Court Empey, being a title sponsor of this annual extravaganza isn’t just about putting his company’s logo on a banner. It’s about being part of something that reflects who the people of Desert Pain are at their core: a homegrown team committed to country, community and compassionate care.
“It’s a great time to honor the people who sacrificed for our country and the people who sacrificed for our town,” he said. “This was a rugged place to settle and survive, and a lot of our ancestors had to fight pretty hard to make this such an awesome place to live.”
Desert Pain is led by a team of five interventional pain management specialists, three of whom grew up in Washington County. Empey and Dr. Spencer Wells attended Dixie High School, while Dr. Nate Clements went to Pine View. After 13 years of medical education and training, each returned home to care for family, friends and the community that helped raise them.
Empey shared fond memories of celebrating the Fourth of July in St. George. As a kid, he accompanied his father, a National Guard veteran and career firefighter, in the parade through historic downtown every year.
“I’ve got a picture in my wallet of me being 10 years old and being on the back of the horse with my dad,” he said. “I remember what a tight-knit community this was to grow up in, and then to come back as a physician and have this practice; it’s been quite fulfilling to try to give back.”
Desert Pain has been serving patients since 2007 and employs approximately 150 Southern Utahns throughout Washington, Iron and surrounding counties. Although the practice has expanded to 12 locations over the years, their mission remains as personal and local as ever: to provide world-class pain care, right here at home.
The practice is also known for its generous and consistent support of local organizations, including the Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic. A longtime member of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, Desert Pain backs Utah Tech University education and athletics, sponsors sports at nearly every high school in the region and contributes to numerous fundraisers each month.
“We’ve got deep roots here, and we feel really lucky to be in this community,” Empey said.
Desert Pain accepts virtually every type of insurance, including Medicaid and state-sponsored plans, ensuring that everyone, regardless of background or financial status, has access to pain care. The practice is also Southern Utah’s largest pain management provider serving VA patients – nearly 1,000 and counting. A specialized team works with veterans as well as the VA to ensure that all necessary paperwork is organized, submitted and authorized for treatment.
“We unconditionally accept VA patients, regardless of how cumbersome it is to work with their insurance,” said Dr. Steven Larsen, Southern Utah’s only pain physician with an extensive military background. As an Army veteran who served combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, he understands the unique and complex medical needs of veterans, along with the barriers they might encounter when seeking care.
Desert Pain’s Dr. Steven Larsen during his time in the U.S. Army, location and date not specified.
Accepting VA patients isn’t always in a clinic’s best interest, but Desert Pain doesn’t back down from a challenge. From the beginning, they’ve been committed to showing their gratitude for Southern Utah’s veterans and their families, and the many sacrifices they’ve made to preserve the American way of life.
“We’re very much an America-first kind of company,” Larsen said. “Residents of Southern Utah love America just like we love it, and that’s why we want to be a part of this celebration where we focus on community and country.”
Wells added, “I’m proud to live in the United States of America – the greatest nation in the world – where I can raise a family in peace and worship God. Thank you to all servicemen and women, and to the leaders of our nation, who defend our freedoms and the Constitution of the United States.”
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.
Desert Pain Specialists is a proud sponsor of this year’s 99.9 KONY Country Fourth of July Celebration with headliner Brett Young. From epic live performances to a showstopping fireworks display, join Southern Utah’s most established pain clinic and the rest of the community at Greater Zion Stadium on Independence Day to honor America. For tickets and more information,
