Officials at Bradford Regional Medical Center have taken the
care of area children to heart.

Starting today, Dr. Frederick Emge, director of pediatric
cardiology at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital of Geisinger Medical
Center in Danville, will see patients in BRMC’s new cardiology
suite.

“It’s a good opportunity for us,” Emge said during a press
conference Monday night in the cardiology suite. Emge will see 10
patients today ranging in age from 8 weeks to 13 years.

In the beginning, Emge’s visits will be monthly. However, he
said he will ask for more days in the cardiology suite if
needed.

And in a time where they say location is everything, this move
makes seeing a cardiologist much more convenient.

Before, patients would travel to DuBois to see him. Emge said he
saw two patients on Monday, one from Smethport, the other from Port
Allegany, who would have rather traveled to Bradford to see him
then to DuBois.

The move is also a godsend for area pediatricians.

Dr. Rebecca Truax Miller noted that if the diagnosis was
complicated, the patient had to travel to receive treatment. Some
people either don’t have the means or the money to travel out of
town.

Emge said that part of this program will be to better triage or
direct patients to the right place if a patient has to go elsewhere
to be treated.

“If we waste time sending them to the wrong place, it could be a
fatal mistake,” Dr. Steven Herrmann, the heart center director,
said.

Dr. Anil Pradhan said that many of the patients have heart
murmurs, which, for the most part, are “innocent” or harmless.
These and other patients can also be evaluated by a cardiologist
quicker than before.

Pradhan said a pediatric cardiologist comes from Pittsburgh
three times a year. More regular visits by Emge will make treatment
more timely.

Most of the patients Emge will see today are from the Pediatrics
Associates of Bradford, which include Miller, Pradhan and Dr.
Narayan Nayak.

“It’s a great addition to our growing cardiology program,”
Herrmann said, explaining that it is important for a specialized
doctor, a pediatric cardiologist, to see the pediatric heart
patients.

“It’s a huge thing for the area,” he said.

Deborah Price, senior vice president of patient care services,
echoed Herrmann’s remarks.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community,” she said.
“It’s difficult for parents to travel. To be able to bring that
service here is very exciting.”

Emge and his colleagues provide cardiology consultations and
treatment for pediatric heart patients and young adults with
congenital heart disease.

The benefits for the patients and their families are many,
officials said, including travel time and faster test results.
Tele-echocardiograms have been done in Bradford for the past eight
months, Herrmann said.

Once a test is done in Bradford, it’s transmitted to a pediatric
cardiologist at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital who can respond to a
child’s physician in 15 to 30 minutes in emergency cases. In other
cases, reports are usually done within an hour. A report is usually
in the pediatrician’s hand in 24 hours.

The tests can be done 24/7.

“We are able to make it work much as if I was in the next room,”
Emge said.

“That’s the strength of our technology,” Herrmann said. “When a
child’s health is on the line, every moment counts.”

Services provided at BRMC for pediatric patients include the
evaluation and management of all types of congenital heart defects,
fully digital echocardiography and EKG; evaluation of heart
murmurs, palpitations and chest pain; and hyperlipidemia or high
cholesterol.

Also, the Geisinger cardiologists offer consultations and
treatment, including MRI imaging for pediatric heart disease and
fetal cardiology, including echo and MRI.

The new cardiology suite, which opened just two weeks ago, will
be the site of Emge’s visits.

“We don’t need a lot to see patients,” Emge said. “An echo
machine, a stethoscope and a little space. This will be a luxury we
will enjoy.”

This move is another step in growing cardiac services for people
in this region.

“It’s grown leaps and bounds,” Price said, adding Herrmann
joined the staff a little over a year ago.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and
women in McKean County.

Geisinger has 22 outreach clinics.

Patients can either be referred to Emge by a physician or make
appointments themselves by calling 1-800-275-6401.