Dr. Peter Bakes, Longtime CarePoint Health Emergency Medicine Physician, Honored as Top Doctor by 5280 and Castle Connolly

CarePoint Health Emergency Medicine Physician and Harvard Medical School graduate Peter Bakes, MD, who has practiced with CarePoint for nearly his entire career, has been named a 2024 Top Doctor by 5280 Magazine and Castle Connolly.

There are approximately 1 million board-certified physicians across the U.S., and only a small percentage of them are recognized as Top Doctors each year.

5280 and Castle Connolly, a New York-based healthcare research and information company, partner annually to create a list of the top physicians in the country. The digital nomination process allows licensed doctors nationwide to recommend candidates in any medical specialty in any part of the country for the honor. Castle Connolly’s physician-led research team then thoroughly vets each nominated doctor’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, and, if available, outcomes data. Also considered in the review process are the physician’s interpersonal skills, such as listening and communicating effectively, demonstrating empathy, and instilling trust and confidence.

Dr. Bakes joins fellow CarePoint Emergency Medicine Physician Jamie Linker, MD, MBE, as a Top Doctor honoree.

Dr. Bakes graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and minored in biology. After graduating from Harvard and completing his Emergency Medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in California, he worked at Harbor-UCLA for a year. He joined CarePoint in 2001, where he has practiced ever since.

Dr. Bakes works in the Swedish Medical Center (Englewood, CO) Emergency Department, which was recently named to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) 2023 Emergency Quality Network (E-QUAL) Honor Roll for outstanding achievements in treating opioid use disorder.

Dr. Bakes played a key role in helping launch CarePoint’s Physician Assistant program, assisting with the onboarding and educational processes for several years. The program was implemented in 2005 by Mark Kozlowski, MD, now CarePoint’s CEO.

In early 2020 and the ensuing months and years, as large numbers of physicians nationwide were quitting because of the immense emotional and physical toll taken by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bakes was instrumental in helping maintain CarePoint’s culture of taking great care of people as he encouraged and supported his fellow doctors while also caring for patients.

“Dr. Bakes and I have worked together for more than two decades,” Dr. Kozlowski said. “I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”