Interventional cardiologist joins the care team at Mat-Su Heart – Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

PALMER Dr. Rodney Badger, interventional cardiologist, has joined Mat-Su Heart in Palmer.

Badger, who is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology, is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and brings close to 40 years of experience in the field of medicine to the Mat-Su Valley community.

Badger earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and completed his residency training at the University of Washington in Seattle. Following residency, he completed a fellowship in cardiology at the University of Washington.

We are thrilled Dr. Badger is here and serving the heart care needs of the Mat-Su Valley, said Alan Craft, director of marketing and public relations for Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. His extensive experience in cardiovascular and internal medicine will help us provide even more comprehensive care to the community.

Mat-Su Heart is the new cardiology clinic the hospital launched last fall in response to the growing need for specialized heart care in the Valley, Craft said. As we examined the clinical data, we saw that too many patients were being sent to Town for care that could be provided locally. Thats what gave birth to Mat-Su Heart.

Before coming to Alaska, Badger worked at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, where he served as the Medical Director of Cardiovascular Services. There, he established a comprehensive cardiology program to include the treatment and prevention of coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, and heart failure. Badger has also served on the clinical faculty of the University of Utah, and at the University of California Davis School of Medicine.

Badger has always had an interest in the healthcare systems of developing countries. He received his undergraduate degree in Latin American studies at Stanford University, and had originally planned to pursue a completely different path of medicine.

I thought I was going to go into infectious diseases, being that that was a big problem in the less developed world, and then when I was at the University of Washington I sort of fell in love with cardiology, he said.

Badger never really lost that first passion, though.

It turns out that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the less developed countries and equatorial ethnic groups are much more susceptible to heart disease, he said.

Badger believes patient care involves more than just science. He said it is part medical, part spiritual. He likens his work to that of a shaman and feels his interest in the patients individuality is what helps him connect.

I still have some spiritual role as a shaman and I think that its just important to touch people. I hold their hand, I put my hand on their shoulder, I touch their knee. Thats the hard thing about COVID. Youre not supposed to touch people anymore.

Badger performs cardiology procedures in the cardiac cath lab at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, including angioplasty and stenting to open blocked arteries in the heart, often in the setting of a heart attack. He also places permanent pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators and implantable loop recorders.

In his free time, Badger enjoys biking, golfing and skiing. In his younger years, he was involved in the National Ski Patrol and alpine ski racing and is already looking forward to being part of the Skeetawk community in Hatchers Pass. He has six children, two are doctors and one is a nurse.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Badger, call Mat-Su Heart at 907-861-6700. The clinic is located in the medical office plaza adjacent to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is a 125-bed healthcare facility providing advanced surgical service, including robotic-assisted partial and total knee and total hip replacement, cardiac care, emergency services, diagnostic imaging, sleep studies, inpatient behavioral health, advanced wound care, three urgent care centers, the Family Birthing Center and is home to the 30-Minutes-or-Less ER Service Pledge.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center was recently honored with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get with the Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award and is accredited as a Chest Pain Center by the American College of Cardiology, as an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The Joint Commission. In 2019, Mat-Su Regional received the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Associations patient safety award, High Reliability: Persevering in the Pursuit of Zero Patient Harm.

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Interventional cardiologist joins the care team at Mat-Su Heart - Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman