HEART CENTER OPENS IN HIAWASSEE

EMORY HEALTHCARE, Cardiac Disease Specialists PC and Chatuge Regional Hospital (CRH) have recently joined together to open the Heart Center in Hiawassee, Ga. The 1,600 square foot Heart Center, located on the second floor of Chatuge Regional Hospital, will provide area residents with access to experienced cardiologists dedicated to the latest in diagnostic cardiac treatment and technology.

"We're delighted," Douglas Morris, M.D., director of Emory's Heart Center in Atlanta said of the Heart Center opening in Hiawassee. "This reflects the fact that we can offer, not only to metro Atlanta, but to the state of Georgia ­ and the entire Southeast, for that matter, a broad range of cardiac expertise."

The Heart Center will include nuclear cardiology services such as a nuclear camera and thallium imaging equipment. The test results will be transferred immediately to Emory Hospital in Atlanta to be read by a team of nuclear cardiologists. Other services include cardiac consultation, exercise tolerance testing (treadmill) and echocardiograms.

"Chatuge Regional Hospital is very proud and excited with this affiliation, said Chuck Adams, CEO, Chatuge Regional Hospital. "This was a joint effort by dedicated cardiologists and staff to make the Heart Center a reality. The Heart Center is a continuation of our commitment to provide quality, comprehensive healthcare to our community."

The Heart Center cardiologists include Christopher U. Cates, M.D., Byron R. Williams, M.D., Paul F. Walter, M.D. and Gerard M. McGorisk, M.D. of EMORY HEALTHCARE and Walter Mashman, M.D. and Lance Berger M.D. of Cardiac Disease Specialists, PC.

Dr. Cates, an angioplasty specialist who joined the Emory faculty earlier this year, has 10 years of experience serving the people of North Georgia and western North Carolina. "The new Heart Center is designed to complement the medical services of local doctors, says Dr. Cates, EMORY HEALTHCARE.

"We're thrilled about bringing together some major players in cardiology to form this new Heart Center. This will be a great benefit to the community and to the patients in this hospital, says Dr. Walter Mashman, Cardiac Disease Specialists, PC.

The Heart Center, with its own separate entrance and spacious reception area at the rear of the hospital (located on parking lot level), is open Monday through Friday. Anyone interested in scheduling an appointment at the Heart Center should call (706) 896-7662.