ALTOONA — UPMC has opened its eighth Center for Liver Diseases clinic, this one at UPMC Altoona at Station Medical Center.
The Center for Liver Diseases team evaluates patients with a variety of common to complex liver conditions, including cirrhosis, hepatitis and fatty liver disease.
Nationally recognized experts will be on-hand to assess patients with liver disease for their suitability for transplant. Plans are set to also provide surgical consultations with patients in the near future.
“This is the second specialized service UPMC is bringing to Altoona to increase the convenience and accessibility of care for patients,” said Jerry Murray, president of UPMC Altoona.
“Patients will receive the necessary tests and evaluations close to home.” The new outreach clinic will serve patients from 14 different counties in central Pennsylvania.
With this new clinic, patients benefit from a full spectrum of liver care, beginning with visits to hepatologists in the Center for Liver Diseases at UPMC Altoona for diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver conditions, to highly specialized care from one of the nation’s leading liver transplant programs.
Patients who are deemed candidates for liver transplant will be evaluated and listed with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and travel to Pittsburgh for surgery when an organ becomes available.
“We are in Altoona to provide world-class service for the convenience of the patients in the Altoona region,” says Vinod Rustgi, M.D., MBA, clinical director of hepatology and medical director of liver transplant at UPMC, who will be providing liver disease services at UPMC Altoona.
The new outpatient clinic is held monthly and will operate Oct. 23, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11 and additional dates in 2015.
For more information on the UPMC Center for Liver Diseases, http://www.upmc.com/cld.