New doctor Mohammad Ranginwala, M.D., is no stranger to Dowagiac.

Dr. Ranginwala, of Granger, Ind., who plans to reopen Dr. Mohammad S. Zaman’s office at 106 S. Lowe St. on July 10, spent five years here practicing internal medicine for Borgess Lee Medical Group.

Dr. Ranginwala

He is a native of Pakistan who came here from New York after his residency at Lady of Mercy Medical Center, which is affiliated with New York Medical College.

Dr. Zaman retired April 1, 2011, after a 40-year medical career in Dowagiac.

“I know the community and area very well,” Dr. Ranginwala said Monday. “That’s what brought me back here to where I have established patient relationships. I like the people here and the slow-going community. It matches my personality. I can grow and relate to the community and the community can relate to me.”

He can be reached by telephone at (269) 462-9399.

Dr. Ranginwala — some shorten it to “Dr. Wala” — has a brother who is also a physician. His retired parents live in Ohio.

His wife’s family lives in the Chicago area. She studied at Northwestern, but computer science, not medicine.

They have three children, a daughter, 9, and two sons, 5 and 7.

Where some doctors become Borgess employees, Dr. Ranginwala is establishing his first practice independently.

“The last two years I worked with a hospital company called IPC in different nursing homes,” including St. Joseph, he said Monday.

“I learned a lot over the last two years,” he said. “I didn’t have experience in nursing homes, and now I do.”

Donald Lyons Health Center opened during his time in Dowagiac and he moved in there from another building. He published an article in the Daily News on hypertension.

Asked about The Affordable Care Act, Dr. Ranginwala said of Obamacare, “There’s a lot of good in it for this community. People who do not have insurance benefit because they will be able to go to their doctor and avoid costly ER (emergency room) visits for small things. People with pre-existing conditions could not get insurance. New college graduates having a hard time getting a job are covered by their parents’ insurance. Almost everybody opposed to it is employed and has medical insurance. On the other hand, people struggling with $7 or $8 jobs did not have time to think about it or a platform to talk about it. Nobody but the government could tackle it. We will see a whole different ballgame. Overall, for Dowagiac, it offers a benefit. That’s my personal opinion.”