JENNIFER BOULDEN

Jonesboro Drs. Linda Harris Gilliam and Roosevelt Gilliam with their 12-year-old daughter, Rachel

People often ask Roosevelt Gilliam what the heck he is doing in Jonesboro, Ark. Gilliam left a job as chief of electrophysiology at Duke University two years ago to practice at Cardiology Associates of Northeast Arkansas and serve St. Bernard Medical Center in Jonesboro. And he couldn't be happier about it.

"People ask me, 'What ever possessed you to do such a thing? Why would you want to come here?'" Gilliam laughs. "But this really is the most perfect situation I have enjoyed. Sometimes you can be more effective in a community that's willing to embrace the changes and let an individual accomplish something. There's less red tape to go through. You have a population here that is very invested in change. I've found a community that not just wanted to do this, but embraced the changes. They are excited about looking at a new area of cardiology. It's absolutely compelling."

Electrophysiology is the area of cardiology focused on electrical disorders of the heart, specifically arrhythmias. Gilliam said that because it is a relatively new branch of cardiology, there are fewer than 1,200 board-certified electrophysiologists in practice. Combine the low number of specialists with the fact Gilliam cited that 80 percent of people who are indicated to receive a defibrillator do not have one, and he said it is hard to find an area of the country that isn't underserved.

Gilliam was born in South Carolina, and grew up between there, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia. His father was a wildly successful football coach at the historically black Maryland State College—in a five-year period, close to 30 of his players went on to the NFL—who was recruited as a scout for the Denver Broncos in the Southeast U.S.

Gilliam himself was something of a track and football star in high school, winning a football scholarship to the University of Georgia.

"People kid me here in Arkansas because they continually bring up the Cotton Bowl game where Georgia unfortunately lost to Arkansas. I was on the team then, as a freshman, but didn't play in that game. I tell them I'm here now as a missionary to the Hogs nation, trying to make them Dogs," Gilliam chuckled.

After college, Gilliam attended medical school at Duke University, where he did his residency and fellowship in internal medicine and cardiology. He taught on the faculty there before going into private practice in electrophysiology in Richmond, Va. from 1988 to 2003. He returned to Duke as chief of electrophysiology for the Department of Cardiology and helped get the program there re-established, but soon found he missed being in practice.

He had never been to Northeast Arkansas, but through a national search, happened upon an opportunity and found Cardiology Associates' and St. Bernard's commitment to progress very enticing.

"This group, it cannot be overstated how progressive they are," he said. "And St. Bernard's, too. It's a wonderful medical center with great support, not just in cardiology, but in all of the major areas of medicine. We have completely computerized medical records, all sorts of things that make practicing medicine and conducting clinical research easier and more efficient."

Jonesboro was also an ideal place for Gilliam and his wife, Linda Harris Gilliam, a family practice physician now with the White River Rural Health Coalition, to raise their 12-year-old daughter Rachel.

"For the two of us, this was really an excellent opportunity to do what we're trained to do in a very pleasant family environment," Gilliam said.

Besides seeing electrophysiology patients in clinic, Gilliam has established a screening program for Arkansas State University athletes. Working closely with a national nonprofit called Closing the Gap, which focuses on reducing disparities in cardiovascular care, and corporate support from Boston Scientific, Gilliam saw that every student in an ASU athletic program—from football to bowling—now receives an EKG to determine if they are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest.


He said that like any such screening, it is not likely to find any problems, but that if one out of 100,000 people screened is at risk, it is extremely gratifying. Plus, he said, the publicity from the program is helping to increase awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and what his group can do to prevent it.

"Gradually, we can change the students' way of thinking, and the coaches, their parents, and start reaching people who are very much at risk," he explained. "Building a program is a process, and every patient who you help goes home and tells their family and friends. Those people note the patient's survival, and tell others. You get a ripple effect, and then a movement."

Getting more physicians on board is key to that movement. He said the number one cause of death is sudden cardiac arrest, and that the vast majority of those deaths are preventable with electrophysiology therapy.

He works long hours now to build the new program, but enjoys unwinding with a good book or a sports activity. Gilliam plays in a local tennis league, and said although he is very bad at it he "attempts to play golf," and even has taken up duck hunting since moving to Arkansas. The family takes ski vacations whenever they can find time to get away.

"Perhaps I work too much, but I love what I do," Gilliam reflected, "and right now, it is necessary work."