New Gastroenterologist Joins Blue Ridge HealthCare
Beginning June 2, 2008, gastroenterologist, Deborah E. Levenson, MD joined Blue Ridge HealthCare in its Professional Office Building on the Grace Hospital campus. The practice, Blue Ridge Digestive Health, provides a broad range of gastrointestinal (GI) and other services.
By late 2008, Dr. Levenson’s office will move to the new Medical Office Building adjacent to Grace Hospital. There, she will oversee and practice out of a newly-installed advanced endoscopy suite. Until the move, most of her procedures will be performed using the equipment and other resources of Grace and Valdese Hospitals.
Dr. Levenson has been practicing gastroenterology for 16 years - primarily in the Washington DC/Alexandria area. She earned her MD at the Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. She completed an internship and residency at Harvard University’s New England Deaconess Hospital, and did her fellowship training at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Among the services Dr. Levenson and her team are able to provide are:
- Colorectal cancer screening with colonoscopy - including removal of polyps
- Treatment of anal-rectal disease including hemroids, in the office
- Treatment of GERD and its complications such as Barrett’s Epithelium
- Treatment of inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease
- Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome
- Treatment of liver diseases including hepatitis virus (hepatitis A, B and C) as well as auto-immune hepatitis and other liver diseases
- Treatment of ulcer disease
- Treatment of other bowel disorders such as chronic constipation and diarrhea
- Treatment of pancreatic diseases including chronic pancreatitis, acute pancreatitis, and gall stone disease.
Dr. Levenson performs primarily diagnostic tests such as colonoscopy and upper endoscopy, and will schedule most required surgical procedures with local surgeons who are members of the Blue Ridge HealthCare medical staff.
When asked why she was interested in moving to Burke County to practice medicine she said, “My husband and I are tired of the big-city traffic and other problems. I want to live somewhere where I can get to know my neighbors - a place that is more family-oriented.”
She also added that she enjoys snow skiing, kayaking and other outdoor activities - and is aware of the great outdoor life opportunities available in western North Carolina.
For more information about Dr. Levenson and Blue Ridge Digestive Health, contact Jon Mercer, 828-580-5537. |
