As the nation faces a shortage of cardiologists, Monadnock Community Hospital is stepping up to meet the demand by opening its own department this fall.

Since the early 2000s, Monadnock Community Hospital patients had received cardiology care from Catholic Medical Center (CMC) in Manchester, according to CMC spokeswoman Laura Montenegro.

Those services were discontinued July 1 “in an effort to serve more patients in the Manchester community” and manage finances more efficiently, she said.

Monadnock Community Hospital notified patients of this change in May, according to Dr. Daniel Perli, the hospital’s chief medical officer. Until the new department opens in October, he said the hospital will offer limited cardiology services like echocardiograms, but otherwise will refer people to Catholic Medical or other hospitals for cardiac care.

“There is a lot of need for cardiology services in this region,” Perli said, adding, “Patients are having to wait sometimes months and they’re often having to travel to Manchester or Nashua or Keene to get cardiology services, and sometimes, even if they’re willing to travel, there are long waits.”

Nearly 50% of counties in the country — and 86% of rural counties — do not have a single heart doctor, even though the remaining counties have an average of 24 cardiologists practicing within them, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology last month.

Residents of counties without a heart doctor have a 31% higher risk of heart disease and are more likely to die from heart-related health problems, with a one-year shorter life expectancy on average, the study found.

The lack of cardiologists is not unlike shortages in other specialties, with an aging workforce and burnout the main factors driving the gap, according to the American College of Cardiology.

The cardiology department at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene is actively recruiting more cardiologists to meet the rising local demand, according to spokesman Matthew Barone.

“We’ve already received 400 calls from patients about being added to the list,” Perli said. “That’s overwhelming. We’ve not seen that much of a response.”

The hospital will expand access to these services for local residents by having its own department, Perli said, such as by offering care five days per week, instead of three or four under the previous model.

The department has hired Dr. Robert Spencer and Brooke O’Connor, an advanced practice registered nurse, who both previously worked together at Cheshire Medical’s cardiology department, according to a newsletter from Monadnock Community Hospital announcing the new department.

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