New cardiologist recruited for NRMC

Saturday, February 4, 2017
New cardiologist at Nevada Regional Medical Center, Dr, Jeffrey Bissing, D.O., began on Jan. 3 and is seeing patients from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each Wednesday and Friday, on the second floor in the North Tower Specialty Clinic. Johannes Brann/Daily Mail

jbrann.ndm@gmail.com

Kevin Leeper, Nevada Regional Medical Center CEO, has many responsibilities but one which has been on the front burner recently is physician recruitment.

"We're trying to get the right mix of doctors to provide the services people in this area need and want," Leeper said. "We also want docs interested in staying here, like Dr. Lovinger and Dr. Turner."

As part of a community needs assessment, confirmed by the work of Healthy Nevada, heart related problems are significant issues for Vernon County residents. For some time, Nevada Regional Medical Center has sought to add the services of a cardiologist and recently, that piece of the care puzzle has been found in the person of Dr. Jeffrey W. Bissing, D.O.

Bissing's expertise is in general adult cardiology with a special interest in electrophysiology -- pacemakers and rhythm disorders -- as well as heart failure.

Speaking at a Lunch and Learn seminar held at NRMC at noon on Friday, Bissing said, "The people of this county should be able to stay here without the need to go 100 miles to get good basic cardiac care. And I'm here to make that happen."

In an interview after his lunch time presentation, Bissing was asked about the services he would provide at NRMC.

Bissing listed inpatient as well as outpatient consultation; administration and evaluation of stress testing -- both physical and chemical; cardioversions -- shocking a heart back into normal rhythm; administration and reading of echocardiograms; and implantation of cardiac pacemakers.

Working out of offices in the hospital's second floor Specialty Clinic, Bissing will see patients from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Wednesdays and Fridays. The doctor will visit hospital patients on those days as well as be available on other days, as needed.

Born in Kansas City, Bissing graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1981 and obtained his bachelor's degree from Baker University, Baldwin City, Kan.

The doctor received his osteopathic medicine degree from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in 1993.

While he intended to become an internist when he started medical school, his priority changed during his second year in medical school, when his 54-year-old father died due to sudden heart problems. This led Bissing, and later his brother, to become cardiologists.

Reflecting on that series of events Bissing said, "After I saw what the cardiologists and other specialists did for my dad, I knew I wanted to go into cardiology, both to make a positive difference and as a way to give back for the blessings my father and family received."

Bissing added, "Every time I see a patient with a history like my dad's, I am reminded of why I went into cardiology and why I'm so glad I'm in a position to help."

As to residency, Bissing did two of them at the University of Iowa. The first was in internal medicine from 1993-96 while the other was in cardiology from 1996-99.

The newly minted cardiologist took a position with Mid-America Cardiology, which was a group in private practice.

"I left in 2003, when the University of Kansas Medical Center bought out the practice," said Bissing. "At the time, I thought, I never want to work for a hospital; I want to be my own boss and control my practice."

Giving off a hearty laugh at that last comment he added, "But now look at me. I'm sitting in a hospital I work for and I'm loving it."

Since Bissing had signed a one-year, non-compete agreement when signing on with Mid-America, he joined his cardiologist brother for a year in Iowa.

Returning from Iowa, Bissing joined and stayed with Clinical Cardiovascular Associates from 2004 until May 2016. During that time he was deployed to provide cardiac services at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton, Bates County Memorial Hospital in Butler, and Ellet Memorial Hospital in Appleton City.

Bissing greatly enjoyed and appreciated the relationships he developed with patients in a wide-ranging area and was moved to resign when Shawnee Mission Medical Center -- which had purchased the cardiology group -- made the decision to cease providing service to outlying areas.

Once again, needing to be working elsewhere for a year, Bissing took on two short-term assignments, bouncing back and forth between Plymouth, Ind. and Fargo, N.D.

Recently, Bissing was recruited to NRMC in partnership with Bates County Memorial Hospital. He will be at BCMH on Mondays and Thursdays.

Asked about eventually expanding services offered in Nevada, Bissing said, "Whatever we do, it has to be justified economically."

He agreed it would be great to open up a catheterization lab and be able start doing heart bypass surgery.

"But even if you'd combine the needs of all the heart patients in Vernon and Bates Counties, I'm not sure there'd be enough of them to pay for the cost of such services."

However Bissing did not want to give the impression that what he would be doing was second rate or minor assistance.

"I stay up to date with the latest studies and practices," said Bissing. "While transplants and bypass surgery grabs all the headlines, I want people to understand that the level of care I am providing in Nevada is precisely what many patients need."

He reiterated his statement that many in Vernon County will not need to leave here in order to get the level of heart care that is right for them.

Dr. Jeffrey Bissing married Cherie Cronley in 1993, right after graduating from medical school. They have three children, a son and twin daughters, all of whom are in college. Cherie Bissing has a degree in fine arts and is presently employed with an art gallery. The couple makes their home in Leawood, Kan.

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