Meet Our Providers
DR. ARIEL HURTADO, M.D.
Ariel Hurtado, M.D., was born and raised in Hollister, California. He comes from a large family with supportive and encouraging parents. His family stressed hard work and firmly believed in the American dream. Dr. Hurtado attended local schools and participated in sports, church, and community activities.
After high school, he attended UC Berkeley to go to medical school. He punctuated his time in college by studying abroad and working on multiple undergraduate medical research projects. After earning his medical degree at the University of Michigan, Dr. Hurtado returned to sunny California to begin his surgical internship at U.C. San Francisco (UCSF), where he met his wife, Megan. Megan was completing her Master’s Degree in Nursing at UCSF.
The two were married at Mission San Juan Bautista and, shortly after that, moved to Southern California to pursue further education. Dr. Hurtado started his anesthesia residency at U.C. Irvine, where he became interested in the burgeoning new field of ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. After graduation, he stayed an additional year as an anesthesiology instructor for new doctors while completing a Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management fellowship.
Upon completing fellowship training, Dr. Ariel Hurtado and his wife, Nurse Practitioner Megan Hurtado, along with their young and growing family, finally returned to their Northern California roots to practice medicine and serve their hometown community.
Once he returned, he focused on improving healthcare delivery by devoting himself to improving medical services in San Benito County. He modernized anesthesiology services and served in multiple leadership positions, including Chairman of the Surgery Department. Additionally, Dr. Hurtado was elected to serve on the Hospital Board of Directors, where he was instrumental in guiding hospital decisions for four years.
A lifelong learner, Dr. Hurtado continued his medical education and earned three board certifications in Anesthesiology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, and Pain Medicine. While simultaneously practicing hospital-based anesthesiology, Dr. Hurtado started his own independent interventional pain management practice, Warrior Wellness, which filled a long-standing void in local health care. In 2020, Ariel Hurtado, M.D. Megan Hurtado, N.P., and their children made a short move to the coastal town of Monterey. As a result, Warrior Wellness expanded and proudly opened an additional location. Warrior Wellness, Monterey, offers a comprehensive list of treatments and advanced procedures.
Dr. Hurtado is an avid athlete who enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and participating in sports. His current academic interests include the prevention, management, and rehabilitation of injuries and health optimization with regenerative medicine, supportive hormone therapy, and nutrition.
