Cardiology Consultants to Join Esse Health

ST. LOUIS – Esse Health today announced that Cardiology Consultants of St. Louis County will be joining the independent physician group, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Cardiology Consultants, to be renamed Esse Health Cardiology Consultants, includes cardiologists Frank Gafford IV, M.D., (photo) and William Wright, M.D, (photo) and nurse practitioner Debra Foersterling (photo). Cardiology Consultants is located at 13303 Tesson Ferry Road, Suite 55, in South St. Louis County.

“By joining Esse Health, the benefits to our patients are great as our patients can have all of their healthcare needs managed in one place,” said Dr. Wright. “Plus, the support from Esse Health’s administrative team will allow us to focus solely on providing the best care for our patients.”

Gafford has been with Cardiology Consultants for 23 years. Prior to that, he was Chairman of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center and co-directed their conjoint CCM fellowship program with St. Louis University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Clinical Associate Professor of Cardiology at St. Louis University. He is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease. A native of Birmingham, Ala., he graduated from the UAB School of Medicine, completed his residency at University of California in San Diego, and did his fellowship in Cardiology at Barnes Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine.

Wright, who has been in practice since 1991, specializes in interventional cardiology and is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. Wright graduated from medical school at the University of Missouri-Columbia before completing his residency and fellowship at the school. He is currently the Chief of the Section of Cardiology at St. Anthony’s Medical Center. He previously served as the Director of the Department of Medicine, Vice President of the Medical Staff, and Medical Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab.

Foersterling is a board-certified nurse practitioner specializing in adult cardiology. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from the Goldfarb School of Nursing and has been a nurse since 1980. Her nursing experience includes OB/GYN, surgery, oncology and medicine. She has experience as an adult nurse practitioner in hospital/office cardiology, trauma, medicine, and geriatrics.

Esse Health is a St. Louis-based independent physician group that strives to improve the overall well-being of its patients through patient education, lifestyle modification and prevention. With 34 locations throughout the St. Louis and Metro East area, Esse Health’s services include asthma, allergy and immunology, family medicine, internal medicine, nutrition, pediatrics, radiology and urology. Esse Health is recognized as a leader in using technology in health care and physician accountability for both quality and cost-of-care. For more information on Esse Health, visit www.essehealth.com.

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FOR MORE INFO: Claire Leffler, Esse Health, 314.851.1053 or cleffler@essehealth.com