Contributed by Katie Stark
Ellen Gallant, M.D., board-certified interventional cardiologist, has joined the staff of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Gallant will be the first employed cardiologist in the hospital’s new Mat-Su Heart clinic.
“We are thrilled to have a cardiologist of Dr. Gallant’s caliber on our medical staff,” said Mat-Su Regional CEO Dave Wallace. The hospital recruited Gallant to fill the growing need for heart care in the Valley, Wallace noted.
“With Dr. Gallant being based full-time in the Valley, more patients will receive the care they need here at Mat-Su Regional – closer to come. In a discipline where time-to-treatment is such a critical factor, this is vital,” Wallace said.
Gallant relocated from Helena, Montana where she served for the past year at St. Peter’s Medical Center.
An avid mountain climber and outdoor enthusiast, Gallant said making the transition to Alaska was an easy choice.
“All the incredible athletic activities here, and the beauty, are what drew me,” she said.
Gallant was born and raised in Boston. She trained at Columbia University and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Her professional history includes three fellowships, board certification in nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular disease, and 20 years of experience as an interventional cardiologist.
Her desire to be in the medical field was set in stone at a very young age and was encouraged by her father.
“I used to say I wanted to be a nurse, then at some point my father, when I was still really little, said, ‘Ellen, why don’t you want to be a doctor?’ And of course, I was a daddy’s girl and I said, ‘I’m going to be a doctor,’” she said.
Gallant performs cardiology procedures in the cardiac cath lab, including angioplasty and stenting to open blocked arteries in the heart, often in the setting of a heart attack. She also places permanent pacemakers, reads echocardiograms (ultrasound of the heart), performs cardioversions to restore normal heart rhythms, and performs transesophageal echocardiograms.
In addition, she has a focus on prevention. Gallant spends a lot of time educating patients on wellness and preventive care – discussing eating habits, exercise goals and ideal cholesterol levels in order to prevent a major event like a heart attack.
While surgery is part of the job, getting to know patients and making a connection with them is what she most enjoys. Gallant considers this to be one of her greatest strengths.
“I always think it’s really fun to just sit down and talk about who they are and what they like to do,” she said.
One of Gallant’s favorite memories is of a patient – a police officer – who had a heart attack on Christmas Eve. The following Christmas Eve, he brought her a thank you card for saving his life.
Throughout her career, Gallant has taken regular breaks to spend time pursuing her passion of mountain climbing. She has climbed mountains all over the world. She scaled Denali in 2006, and tried twice to summit Mount Everest, before finally reaching the summit on her third attempt in 2017.
“The view from the summit of Everest in May of 2017 was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. I feel blessed to have stood there for even those few moments,” Gallant said.
Her other hobbies include mountain-biking, road cycling, hiking, and stand-up paddle-boarding. If she had not gone into the medical field, Gallant said she would have been a professional mountain guide.
Mat-Su Heart is located at 2490 S. Woodworth Loop, Palmer, in the medical plaza adjacent to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Gallant, call Mat-Su Heart at (907) 861-6700.
About Mat-Su Regional Medical Center:
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. It is a 109-bed acute care healthcare facility providing advanced surgical service, including robotic-assisted partial and total knee and total hip replacement, cardiac care, emergency services, sleep studies, three urgent care centers, the Family Birthing Center and is home to the 30-Minutes-or-Less ER Service Pledge. Mat-Su Regional is accredited as a Chest Pain Center by the American College of Cardiology, and as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The Joint Commission. The hospital has twice been named one of the Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review. To learn more about Mat-Su Regional, visit www.MatSuRegional.com.
