August 12, 2009, ST. LOUIS – As part of a growing expansion of services at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, Washington University gastroenterologists have added their nationally-ranked interventional expertise to the Creve Coeur campus.

The expansion is the latest in giving St. Louis County residents closer access to treatments and therapies that previously were only available at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in the Central West End. Previous expansion includes the 2008 opening of a new facility on campus for the Siteman Cancer Center, the installation of a linear accelerator for radiation oncology services, increased radiology services, and pediatric services in partnership with St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

“Washington University gastroenterologists are national leaders in their field,” said Larry Tracy, chief operating officer at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “We are pleased to expand our services in digestive health by combining world-class private and faculty physicians and exceptional nursing care, all in a convenient West County location.”

Steven Edmundowicz, MD, director of interventional endoscopy at Washington University, along with Sreenivasa Jonnalagadda, MD, Dayna Early, MD, Daniel Mullady, MD and Riad Azar, MD are located in Medical Office Building 2, 10 Barnes West Drive, with clinical office hours three afternoons each week. They join Themistocles Dassopoulos, MD, and Chien-Huan Chen, MD, PhD, who perform procedures and have office hours at Barnes-Jewish West County on a regular basis.

“The GI facilities at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital are state-of-the-art with highly-trained staff,” said David Goran, MD, medical director of gastroenterology services at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “Our GI lab provides an excellent environment, not only for routine GI procedures, but also for advanced interventional procedures. Our lab is backed by anesthesiology, a full-service radiology department, surgery and an inpatient hospital.

Edmundowicz and his team have clinical and research interests that include diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, pancreatic disease and therapies related to gastroesophageal reflux disease.

“Our expertise in areas such as biliary and pancreatic disease will strengthen the team approach to digestive health offered to patients at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital,” said Edmundowicz. “We are committed to exceptional care that is easily accessible to patients.”