Hospitalist Services
Hospitalist Services consists of providers who are specially trained in inpatient care and are considered inpatient specialists. The Hospitalist Services providers are specially trained in internal medicine. Your primary care physician has made them available to you in the event that you require hospitalization.
Our hospitalists will keep your primary care physician informed of your progress while you are in the hospital. The hospitalist is also available to you while you are in the hospital and will see you soon after you are admitted.
Why use our Hospitalist Progam?
Our hospitalists are:
- Familiar with key staff in the hospital, including medical and surgical consultants, discharge planners, clergy and other employees, which improves care
- Able to rapidly respond to problems or crises that may arise during patient care
- Partners with primary care physicians in coordinating specialized medical treatment for individual patients
- An excellent resource for patients without a primary care physician
How do I use the Hospitalist Program?
If your physician or specialist believes that you need to be hospitalized, he or she may choose to coordinate your admission with our Hospitalist group. The hospitalist(s) will be in frequent contact with your physician, relaying the details of your care. If you are admitted through the Emergency Department, your physician will be promptly notified of your status and condition.
Once you've been admitted under the care of the hospitalist group, a hospitalist will be in charge of your care and will see you daily. Throughout your stay, they will work together with your physician to ensure that you obtain the best care possible.
The Hospitalist group will:
- Assess and treat your medical condition
- Coordinate your hospital care
- Establish a relationship with you and your family
- Review your progress with your physician
- When discharged, transition medical care back to your primary physician, who will resume the responsibility for ongoing outpatient treatment
- Assist patients in finding a primary care physician for those who do not already have one
What if I need a specialist while I am in the hospital?
Sometimes consultation with other specialists is necessary to ensure that you receive the best care we have to offer. The Hospitalist Services provider will coordinate your care with other specialists as needed.
The Hospitalists at Parkridge
Heather Chattin, M.D.
Dr. Chattin has been a Hospitalist at Parkridge Medical Center since 2002. She received her medical degree from East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine in 1999, and completed her Internal Medicine residency there in 2002. Before coming to Chattanooga, Dr. Chattin was selected to serve as Chief Resident at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee in 2002. Dr. Chattin is board-certified in Internal Medicine and a member of the American Medical Association.
James Durham, M.D.
Dr. Durham, a board-eligible physician in Internal Medicine, has been a Hospitalist at Parkridge Medical Center since 2000. After graduating from the Medical College of Georgia in 1987, Dr. Durham completed an internship and residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Durham moved to Chattanooga in 1990, where he spent 10 years in private practice and served as a staff physician at area hospitals. In his career to date, Dr. Durham has served on several hospital committees and has gained significant experience in the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and other rheumatological diseases. Dr. Durham is a member of the American College of Physicians.
Teresa Regan, M.D.
A Mississippi native, Dr. Regan has been a member of the Hospitalist staff at Parkridge Medical Center since 2007. After graduating in 1985 from the University of West Virginia’s School of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Regan interned for a year at Carson City Hospital in Carson City, Michigan. She then entered general practice in Mississippi before moving to Memphis, Tennessee, to practice urgent care and occupational health medicine. In 1996, Dr. Regan came to Chattanooga, where she completed an internal medicine residency at University of Tennessee College of Medicine’s Chattanooga Unit the following year. Dr. Regan then practiced emergency medicine and hospital medicine in Chattanooga and conducted private practice in Whitwell, Tennessee, before coming to Parkridge. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine.
Farhan Rizvi, M.D.
Dr. Rizvi has been affiliated with the Parkridge Medical Center Hospitalist program since 2002. Dr. Rizvi received his medical education in his native Pakistan, where he received his MD equivalent in 1991. Following graduation, he gained experience at several hospitals in the capital city of Karachi, and was awarded honors for his work at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center. Dr. Rizvi came to Chattanooga in 1995 and completed his medical internship and residency at the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga in 1998. He remained in private practice until he became the Medical Director of the Parkridge Medical Center Hospitalist program in 2008. Dr. Rizvi is board-certified in Internal Medicine, and is an associate member of the American College of Physicians.
Tricia Scheuneman, M.D.
Dr. Scheuneman became a Hospitalist at Parkridge Medical Center after moving to Chattanooga in 2005. Dr. Scheuneman received her bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from Andrews University, and worked as a Medical Technologist for several years following the completion of her undergraduate studies. In 2002, she received her Medical Doctorate from Loma Linda University in California, and completed her residency at California’s Kaiser Permanente Hospital in 2005. She is board-certified in Family Practice.
