The Georgia Heart Institute of the Northeast Georgia Health System celebrated its new office location at 129 S. Main Street in Hiawassee with a well-attended ribbon cutting on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Office staff, patients, community members and the Lake Chatuge Chamber of Commerce were all proud to see the establishment of another local resource that will no doubt benefit the area’s health.
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Dr. Megan Smith is one of two local cardiologists with the Georgia Heart Institute. She grew up in Habersham County and attended Piedmont University before leaving the area for medical school and to complete her residency, but she returned to be close to family.
Seeing her grandparents struggle with heart issues was what first piqued her interest in cardiology, along with the historical lack of treatment that rural communities receive compared to more urban areas.
“If you look at rural, we die more often from (heart disease) than people in cities, and how is that right?” Smith said. “How can we live with that and not do something about that?
“And so, the best thing that I can think of in this day and age is, bring the care to the people that need it. Quit telling them to go to the ivory towers – bring it to them.”
Some may recognize Dr. Smith from the Georgia Heart Institute facility in Blairsville, and working there was what led to the construction of the practice in Hiawassee.
“I have always wanted to move in this direction. Even though it seems close, talk to people who live here – they don’t want to drive to Blairsville,” said Smith, adding that GA 515 road construction between Towns and Union counties was also a huge factor in securing a new location.
“When I found out it was going to be years and we started to see the issues that our patients were having getting to us,” Dr. Smith continued, “it really was like, ‘OK, this is something we’ve wanted to do; we’ve got to do it.’”
Not only that, but Smith says she also sees patients from farther north, out of Warne and Hayesville in North Carolina. This will help ease some of their own travel concerns to find quality care.
What does that care look like? Currently, labs can be drawn and processed there, and in-office diuretic procedures can remove fluid from congestive heart failure patients. Monitoring is also available, such as electrocardiogram testing, or EKG.
Smith has already prepared for further imaging like ultrasounds to be available within six months’ time, and she revealed that another clinician will coming to the practice in November to join herself and Dr. Marc Veneziano, Michelle Robertson, NP, and Stephanie Bailey, PA.
Cardiologist Dr. Veneziano grew up and was trained in New York and the Northeast, and after a fellowship in Buffalo, he came to Georgia to work for Emory University.
For about nine or 10 years, he had a satellite office at Chatuge Regional Hospital. He left to work at Blairsville’s Georgia Heart Institute but has returned to Hiawassee to continue giving care at the new location.
“Oh, I love it. I live in Milton, so Alpharetta, so I commute up here and chose to keep the lifestyle of commuting because I love the people and the patients,” Dr. Veneziano said. “I enjoy being back where it all started and seeing the same and new patients as we go.”
After a brief welcome from Dr. Smith, she took a moment to thank Practice Manager Lauren Lafferty for her role in making the dream for a Georgia Heart Institute practice in Hiawassee a reality. Tours followed so that anyone interested could see every inch of the new facility.
Joanne McGlamery and her husband are both patients of Dr. Smith, whom they began to see on the recommendation of their daughter, Danielle Maney, who worked in imaging at the Blairsville office.
“We see Dr. Smith, and she is absolutely wonderful. She’s so patient, she listens, she takes time to explain things so that you can fully understand. She spends hours looking over your records and things, I think, because she knows every little detail,” relayed McGlamery, who is grateful for the life-changing care her husband has received under Dr. Smith.
Added Maney, “He went from barely being able to walk from the living room to the bathroom without being winded and just felt like giving up. Now, he golfs 18 holes every week, sometimes twice, thanks to Georgia Heart.”
McGlamery was happy to report that her husband also works regularly at mowing the yard, bush hogging and other activities.
“He does anything that he wishes to do, and he’s 81 years old,” McGlamery said. “(Dr. Smith) has really brought him back from almost death’s door, and we credit her.”
From a staff standpoint, Maney described her time at Georgia Heart as “the best job I ever had,” because not only do the doctors put an emphasis on patient care, but they advocate and care for their staff as well.
Georgia Heart in Hiawassee accepts walk-ins, but anyone who wants to make an appointment can dial 706-835-1914.
