Jeffery Curtis, M.D., and his colleagues at Hays Medical Center had been talking about ways to offer Great Bend-area residents even more access to cardiology services close to home.

            As a result, Dr. Curtis is now seeing patients at the St. Rose/HaysMed Specialty Clinic on a regular basis. His first day was May 23.

            “We will be caring for patients with all kinds of cardiac issues at St. Rose,” said Dr. Curtis, a Hays native. “Patients shouldn’t have to travel for all their appointments or for some common tests and treatment. We are happy to be here in this beautiful facility.”

            Dr. Curtis will see patients who have had heart attacks, as well as those with atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, chest pain, congestive heart failure, blocked arteries, heart-valve issues, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

            “We also monitor patients who have had pacemakers or defibrillators implanted,” Dr. Curtis noted. “And we can perform echocardiograms here at St. Rose.”

            The veteran cardiologist is impressed that St. Rose also offers comprehensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Services on-site.

            “The cardiac rehab program here is a real asset to the facility and to residents of central Kansas,” Dr. Curtis said. “Rehab is an integral part of recovery from surgeries and procedures. It is just as important as the medications we prescribe.”

            St. Rose also offers three cardiovascular screening tests on site.

            Dr. Curtis’ home base is the DeBakey Heart Institute at HaysMed, where he is the new director of Cardiology Services.

            “I oversee personnel and day-to-day cardiology services at HaysMed and our outreach locations. I make sure we have an adequate number of high-quality cardiologists and advanced-practice providers to provide the care and treatment patients need and deserve.”

            Dr. Curtis has 25 years of experience performing angioplasties and implanting stents at cardiac catheterization labs.

            “Angioplasties and stents revolutionized the treatment of heart disease,” he said. “These procedures can interrupt a heart attack, which can help save the heart muscle. This, in turn, can help prevent congestive heart failure.”

            Dr. Curtis is a 1973 graduate of Hays High School; he earned a bachelor’s degree in general science at Fort Hays State University in 1977. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1981, was an internal medicine resident at KU from 1981-84 and chief internal medicine resident there from 1984-85.

            Next came a Fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the University of North Carolina from 1985-88.

            Dr. Curtis practiced general and interventional cardiology at Stormont Vail HealthCare in Topeka from 1988-2002 and at HaysMed from 2002 to 2013. He then practiced both internal medicine and cardiology at HaysMed.

            Dr. Mohammed Janif, another DeBakey Heart Institute cardiologist, sees patients in Great Bend at Central Kansas Family Practice. Other DeBakey cardiologists are Dr. Byungsoo Ko, Dr. Rashmi Thapa and Dr. Javed Ashraf. Dr. Jerry Durham is the new cardiovascular surgeon.