|
Phone: (276) 546-5532 Saira Ahsan is a board-certified pediatrician in private practice at Lee Regional Medical Center in Pennington Gap, Virginia. Her office is located in the hospital's medical arts building and a pediatric associate and a part-time pediatric nurse practitioner supports her practice. Born July 17, 1963 in Peshawar, Pakistan, Dr. Ahsan is a permanent citizen of the United States. In 1979, she came with her family to the United States and attended secondary school at Central High in High Point, North Carolina. In 1981, at the end of her junior year in high school, the family returned to Pakistan where Dr. Ahsan completed her education. She received a M.B., B.S. at the Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan in 1989. Dr. Ahsan came back to the United States after graduating from medical school, and she passed the E.C.F.M.G. equivalency exam in July 1990. She worked as a research associate with the Department of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri from April 1990 until June 1991, when she began residency training. She completed a three-year residency in pediatrics in 1994 at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1994, Dr. Ahsan was employed by Stone Mountain Health Services, a community health center, to practice pediatrics at Lee Regional Medical Center in Pennington Gap. In 1996, the hospital employed her outright and she was appointed Director of Pediatric Services. In 1998, Dr. Ahsan associated with Appalachian Primary Care and Specialty Services, a professional corporation directed by her husband Zafar Ahsan, M.D., who works with Frontier Health Services. The Ahsans have two sons, Zain and Belal. D The practice has a computerized management information system that can track the number and diagnoses of patients seen by residents. There are several Internet connections in the medical arts building and throughout the hospital. Dr. Ahsan has direct access to the University of Virginia Health System through the telemedicine program at Lee Regional Medical Center. LRMC is a member of the Southwest Virginia Alliance for Telemedicine, a partnership between the University of Virginia and selected health care sites in Southwest Virginia. Through this system, local physicians can consult in real time with specialists at UVa. Telemedicine can also access educational programs such as grand rounds, case conferences, and lectures. On the average, Dr. Ahsan and the nurse practitioner see about 25 patients a day in an office setting. The practice is busier during the winter, when 35-40 patients present for care each day. Patient flow is slower in the summer months. About 40 % of Dr. Ahsan's patients are infants, 40% are children aged 1-12 and 20% are adolescents. Dr. Ahsan estimates that 60% of her patients are covered by Medicaid, another 25% have commercial insurance, and some 5% are uninsured. D Dr. Ahsan takes a special interest in her patients and unless she is out of town, can always be reached by phone. Although she enjoys primary care in general, Dr. Ahsan is especially interested in ADD/ADHD. She offers sports physicals and treats patients with sports related injuries. Dr. Ahsan is active in the local community, where she participates in health fairs and consults with the Safe Kids Coalition. Her personal interests include music and travel and spending time with her husband and sons. Residents who rotate with Dr. Ahsan may choose to stay in area motels Convenient Inn, Jonesville Motor Lodge, or Comfort Inn - or with local citizens who offer room and board. GMEC can attempt to locate a furnished house or apartment for residents, but we can offer no guarantees because short-term rentals are extremely difficult to secure in rural areas. Lee Regional Medical Center offers a standard range of services: emergency, inpatient and outpatient care, intensive care, surgery and anesthesia, obstetrics, radiology, imaging, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, laboratory, nutrition, physical therapy, pharmacy, and home health. Specialties represented on the hospital staff include cardiology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, physical medicine, podiatry, psychiatry, radiology, and urology. Pennington Gap is an incorporated town, home to 1,922 people. Situated near the rugged coal-bearing hills of northeastern Lee County, the town lies at the base of Stone Mountain in a gap carved by the north fork of the Powell River. U.S. Highways 421 and 58A intersect in Pennington, offering two-lane access to the town from all directions. There are several small shopping centers in town with discount stores, groceries, restaurants, cinema screens, and specialty boutiques. For fine dining, live theater, and serious shopping, most people drive to Kingsport, Tennessee, about 40 minutes to the southwest. Lake Keokee, Jefferson National Forest, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, and Natural Tunnel State Park are within 30 minutes of Pennington Gap, offering hiking, biking, swimming, camping, hunting, fishing, and similar outdoor recreations. Lee County's landscape is a study in contrasts. The broad and beautiful valley of the Powell River crosses the mid-section of the county and includes fields as flat as the plains. To the north is all-but-impassable Stone Mountain and to the south is the spectacular Powell Mountain range. Forests in the northeast mask a landscape marred by coal-mining, but the pastured lands to the east and west are unrivaled when it comes to natural beauty. Manufacturing, transfer payments (retirement pensions, disability
income, and welfare benefits), tobacco and stock farming, coal
production, retail trade, and personal services are major components
of the economy in Lee County. In 1995, the county's largest employers
included the public school system, Lee Regional Medical Center,
DeRoyal Industries (surgical appliances and supplies), Christiansburg
Garment Company, and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
|
Saira Z. Ahsan, M.D.
r. Ahsan works in the office from
9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Her practice suite
has three exam rooms and a waived medical laboratory. Procedures
performed on the premises include urinary catheterization, blood
draws, and lumbar punctures. Patients are referred for x-rays
and other services to Lee Regional Medical Center. An adjacent suite is part of the practice where the pediatric associate sees patients. 
r. Ahsan maintains privileges
at Lee Regional Medical Center, an 80-bed acute care facility
in Pennington Gap. She sees 1-5 patients a day in the hospital.
Dr. Ahsan shares call
with the two other pediatricians and family practitioners in the community, rotating every
other evening and every other weekend. Residents may participate
in the call schedule if they wish or as required by their training
program.