History
The History of Upstate CardiologyCardiology in Greenville and the surrounding communities is traced back to Dr. William Algary. In 1974, Dr. Algary formed Cardiovascular Associates. He initially had one employee who was his chaperone, secretary, nurse, typist, bookkeeper and housekeeper. In October 1974, Dr Algary performed the first cardiac catheterization in Greenville County in the new catheterization lab at Greenville Memorial Hospital. In July 1975, Dr. Charles D. Ross joined Dr. Algary and in July 1979, Dr. Morris E. Williams, Jr. joined the group. In 1981 Dr. Charles Ross performed the first angioplasty, an operation to repair a damaged blood vessel or unblock a coronary artery, in the Upstate of South Carolina. By 1991, Cardiovascular Associates had added Dr. Douglas S. Head and Dr. John E. Cebe. In 1982, after completing their Cardiology fellowship training in Kentucky, Dr. Lawrence W. Freeman and Dr. Michael W. Payne formed Greenville Cardiology, P.A. Several years later, they added Dr. Gregory W. San and Dr. Ned D. Freeman. The two groups, Cardiovascular Associates and Greenville Cardiology, realized their medical practices shared many of the same values, ethics and philosophy. They decided to merge and formed Upstate Cardiology, PA in August of 1994. With the merger came the first nuclear cardiology department to be located in a physician office in Greenville County. The introduction of diagnostics such as nuclear cardiology and echocardiography in the outpatient setting represented a significant enhancement to the quality of cardiovascular care. Soon after the two practices merged to form Upstate Cardiology, Dr. Brad M. Simpson, who had opened a cardiology practice in Easley, joined the team. Since 1995, the practice has added eight additional cardiologists: in 1997 Dr. Steven D. Johnson, in 2001 Dr. Jon M. Bittrick and Dr. Barbara Moran-Faile, in 2004 Dr. A. Thomas Siachos and Dr. Christopher H. Smith, in 2006 Dr. Mark A. Grabarczyk, and in 2008 Dr. Matthew G Nessmith. In 2009 with the addition of Dr. Craig J. McCotter, who is an electrophysiologist, Upstate Cardiology has incorporated a full service EP Department into the practice. In the summer of 2010 we welcomed Dr. Ted Stewart to the practice and look forward to the arrival of Dr. Rich Vest in the summer of 2011. Recently, our Greenville practice moved from Grove Road to a 26,000 square foot facility on the new Bon Secours St. Francis Millennium Campus. We have also completed renovations of our Easley office so that we can now provide the same comprehensive array of cardiac diagnostic testing and treatment services in both locations. Our founding father, Dr. Algary, retired in 2003; but his desire to advance medicine in this community continues to thrive within our organization. In the 36 years of existence, the pioneers of cardiology in the Upstate have experienced many firsts: the first cardiologist in Greenville, the first cardiac catheterization, the first angioplasty and the first office to offer advanced diagnostic capability to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease. Although we have grown from one physician with one staff member to a group with 18 physicians, 7 physician extenders and over 90 employees with three locations, we are still dedicated to providing the very best cardiovascular medicine that can be found anywhere and deliver it with timeless compassion and care. |