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Phone: (276) 679-5880 Rodolfo Cartagena, M.D. is a gynecologist in practice with Wise Medical Group, a group of physicians affiliated with Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Norton, Virginia. Dr. Cartagena has discontinued the practice of obstetrics in order to concentrate on gynecology. Born on February 8, 1942 in Manila, Philippines, Dr. Cartagena attended the University of Santo Thomas, also in Manila, where he studied the liberal arts and sciences. He received a M.D. degree from the University of Santo Thomas in 1967. After completing a one-year general internship in Manila, Dr. Cartagena was employed by the Manila Health Department as a school physician. He practiced general medicine after school hours. In 1970, Dr. Cartagena moved to San Francisco, California, along with his wife and three children. While preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences (FMGEMS), the doctor was employed as an insurance claims examiner by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. After passing the FMGEMS in 1971, Dr. Cartagena completed an one-year general internship at St. Margaret's Memorial Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He completed an OB/GYN residency in the Ohio Valley Medical Center at the University of West Virginia in Wheeling in 1976. That same year, Dr. Cartagena became a U.S. citizen. After five months of private practice in Clarksburg, West Virginia, he was recruited to Wise, Virginia by the Dickenson-Wise Medical Group. Dr. Cartagena practiced in Wise from 1976 until 1980, when he and Dr. Zibdeh, established Norwise OB/GYN. Dr. Cartagena joined his current practice in February 2006.
Dr. Cartagena sees an average of 17 patients a day. Approximately one-third of his patients are adults over the age of 65, a second third are younger adults, and the remainder are adolescents. About 32% of his patients are covered by Medicaid or Medicare; 65% are insured by commercial carriers; and 3% percent are uninsured. Dr. Cartagena maintains privileges at Mountain View Regional Medical Center, in Norton. He admits an average of five patients per month. Inpatient procedures include hysterectomy, MMK, A&P repair, tubal re-anastomosis, tubal ligation, LEEP procedure (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure) laparoscopy, cystoscopy, and pessary placement. Dr. Cartagena particularly enjoys the practice of gynecology, which led to his decision to discontinue obstetrics. He sees a number of patients with bladder disorders and has a growing interest in infertility. He has experienced significant success in increasing fertility with the tubal re-anastomosis procedure. Dr. Cartagena is a proponent of minimally invasive surgery.
From time to time, Dr. Cartagena helps with local health fairs and other community health events. He has been recognized by the Ambassador's Program of People to People International for his contribution to the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons' Minimally Invasive Surgery Delegation to the People's Republic of China. He is President and founding member of the Foundation of The Southwest Virginia Association of Philippine Physicians. Dr. Cartagena lives with his wife and youngest son in Wise, Virginia. The Cartagenas have two sons, one daughter, and six grandchildren. They enjoy boating, fishing and other outdoor activities. GMEC should be able to secure a furnished apartment for residents who train with Dr. Cartagena. Alternately, residents may choose to stay in one of the area motels - Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Country Hearth, or Super 8.
Mountain View Regional Medical Center is one of two hospitals in the City of Norton, the other being Norton Community Hospital. The Southwest Virginia Regional Cancer Center is also located in Norton. The Town of Wise (pop. 3,255) and City of Norton (pop. 3,904) are adjacent communities centrally located in the County of Wise (pop. 40,123). Wise County's landscape is a forested wonderland that has been forever altered by surface (coal) mining. Two four-lane highways - US 23 and US 58 Alternate intersect in Norton/Wise and offer easy access for travels throughout Southwest Virginia and Southeast Kentucky. The local economy is based on educational, health and social services (23.7%), retail and wholesale trade (16.8%), forestry and mining (10.3%), arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services (7.4%), construction (7.2%), and manufacturing (6.2%). In 1995, major employers included the public schools, St. Mary's Hospital (now Mountain View Regional Medical Center), Wal-Mart, Norton Community Hospital, Lonesome Pine Hospital, Paramount Coal Corporation, Powell Mountain Coal Company, Glamorgan Coal Corporation, the University of Virginia's College at Wise, and Mountain Empire Community College. There are three shopping centers in the Norton/Wise area with any number of department stores, groceries, discount stores, and specialty boutiques. There is a two-screen cinema in one of the shopping centers. American, Chinese, Mexican, and Italian "sit-down" restaurants vie with fast food vendors for the dining dollar. The Virginia/Kentucky "Opry" in downtown Norton showcases bluegrass, gospel, and country music acts on weekends. Norton has two parks with well-equipped playgrounds in the downtown area. On Stone Mountain, high above the city streets, are the Flag Rock and High Knob recreation areas with facilities for hiking, biking, swimming, picnicking, and fishing. From a fire tower on High Knob, visitors can enjoy an awesome 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside. Just on the other side of Stone Mountain are Bark Camp Lake and High Knob Lake, both created by dams built to store municipal water supplies and prevent flash floods. See our county/city profiles for more information about Norton and Wise at http://www.uvawise.edu.
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Rodolfo
Cartagena, M.D. 
Dr.
Cartagena sees patients from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday. He has exclusive use of two exam rooms. There is a waived lab
on the premises and sonograms are performed in the office. Typical procedures
done on site include pap smear, removal of skin lesions and moles, endometrial
biopsy, cervical biopsy, vulvar biopsy, colposcopy, cryosurgery, and
insertion of IUD.
Dr.
Cartagena enjoys rural living and encourages residents to experience
the practice of "community-based medicine." He has the unique
perspective of having built a very successful OB/GYN practice in a rural
community where OB/GYN cases were typically referred to the Tennessee
tri-cities or other urban areas. 
Mountain View Regional Medical Center is a 133-bed hospital with 54 acute care beds, 44 long-term
beds, and 35 psychiatric beds. The hospital offers a standard range
of services -- emergency, inpatient and outpatient care, intensive care,
surgery and anesthesia, obstetrics, radiology, imaging, cardiopulmonary,
laboratory, nutrition, physical therapy, pharmacy, and home health.