Inpatient care
- Admitting/consulting privileges: Drs. Liske and Bremer maintain admitting or consulting privileges at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, University of Tennessee Hospital, St. Mary’s Regional Hospital and Fort Sanders Regional Hospital.
- Hospital conditions managed: Dr. Bremer and Dr. Liske provide expertise in the care of the critically ill newborn, destabilizing heart rhythm abnormalities, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. They enjoy working with each patient’s primary physician as well as other sub-specialists to ensure a speedy recovery.
What about cardiac catheterization and surgery?
- If a patient needs an interventional catheterization procedure or cardiac surgery, Drs. Liske and Bremer will discuss with each family the options available to them. In some cases, these procedures can be done conveniently right here in Knoxville, while in other situations, the complexity of the defect requires transfer of care to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital or another facility outside the State of Tennessee. We always desire to provide as much information as possible so that the family and cardiologist together can make the best decision possible.
Research
- Our field would not be where it is today if it were not for the tireless efforts of physician-scientists and the families with whom they work. There remains a tremendous amount of needed information about the care of patients with congenital heart defects, acquired heart defects, heart rhythm disorders, and inherited conditions. There are even some diagnoses for which there is still no proven effective treatment. We commit to the families for whom we care that we will investigate the availability of research protocols and trials in these situations, always providing them with any information about possible side effects of such treatments to ensure each family makes an informed decision prior to enrolling.
Overseas medical missions: The Tenwek Heart Project
- In November of 2008, a team led by Dr. Liske travelled to Tenwek Mission Hospital in Kenya, East Africa. This team was comprised of physicians and staff from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and Brown University in Rhode Island, and received logistic and financial support from World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse. Cardiac surgery was performed on 9 children and young adults, providing life giving care to those who would have never had the option to receive it otherwise. Drs. Bremer and Liske are continuing to support this ongoing effort. A cardiac surgical team travelled once again to Tenwek in September, 2009, and Dr. Liske is looking forward to returning there in 2010, hoping to enlist personnel from both East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and the University of Tennessee Hospital for this venture.
