New pediatric heart clinic opens in Minnetonka
Families living in the southwest metro once had to travel to the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center campus in Minneapolis to get specialty pediatric heart care. Now M Health Fairview Pediatrics is offering that care to children – from infancy through adolescence – in Minnetonka.
The M Health Fairview Pediatric Specialty Clinic – Minnetonka opened on Feb. 21. The clinic opening is part of our commitment to making comprehensive care more accessible. It is the latest in a series of openings designed to broaden geographic reach of our pediatric specialty services following the launch of M Health Fairview Pediatrics in late 2023. A similar clinic focused exclusively on heart care opened in Hudson, Wis. in 2023.
Lisha Thomas, MD, will lead heart care at the clinic located at 17705 Hutchins Dr., Suite 100, in Minnetonka. The clinic is co-located with South Lake Pediatrics. Families can call our general number, 612-365-6777, to make an appointment. Dr. Thomas is a pediatric cardiologist at the Pediatric Heart Center at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Dr. Thomas understands that it can be difficult for a family when a child needs heart care. She hopes that eliminating the need to travel to an unfamiliar location makes it easier for families to get that care.
“I know that needing to see a cardiologist can be scary for many families,” she said. “But we hope that providing access to our team closer to home and possibly in the familiarity of their pediatrician’s office can provide some relief from that anxiety.”
The Minnetonka location brings services that are typically only available in hospitals or specialty centers to the western suburbs. Services include on-site echocardiography and electrocardiogram (EKG) technology to diagnose and monitor a range of heart conditions.
If patients need more complex cardiac procedures or surgeries, they will be referred to the nationally recognized M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. Specialty care from an academic health system like M Health Fairview comes with the benefit of a team of multi-disciplinary cardiac specialists who use the latest technology and techniques to care for patients.
“Patients will have access to cardiac subspecialists if an advanced procedure is necessary,” Dr. Thomas said. “We’re all the same team, so we have easy access to them.”
M Health Fairview Pediatrics is home to 40 primary care clinics, in addition to our specialty clinics, children’s hospital, and network of convenient community hospitals. We provide Minnesota’s broadest range of 60+ pediatric specialties, including several internationally renowned specialty care programs.
