History

The pulmonary hypertension program at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin is part of southeastern Wisconsin’s only academic medical center and Level 1 Trauma Center. The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health care network is made up of Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls; St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend; and more than 25 primary and specialty care health centers and clinics. Joining the capabilities of an academic medical center affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Froedtert & the Medical College health network delivers highly coordinated, cost-effective health care to residents of southeastern Wisconsin and beyond. The network’s three hospitals have 781 staffed beds, nearly 40,000 annual admissions and more than 900,000 annual outpatient visits.

Kenneth Presberg, MD, arrived at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1990 with particular interests in pulmonary vascular disorders and critical care medicine. He initiated services for pulmonary hypertension patients shortly thereafter. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin pulmonary hypertension program now receives referrals from a large regional area in the state of Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Dr Presberg currently serves as medical director of the pulmonary hypertension program and lung transplant program at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has served as the PI on a number of multi-center clinical trials in PH. He has an interest in accurate diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment of PH patients. He served as the fellowship program director for many years and has a strong interest in medical and staff education.

Gaurav Dagar, MD, has been a Faculty member in Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine since April 2014 and has been involved with the multi-disciplinary treatment of the PH patients since that time. He completed additional training in pulmonary hypertension during his fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin with Dr. Presberg. He started a dedicated Pulmonary Hypertension clinic in September 2015. Dr Dagar is interested in the procedural and therapeutic arms of pulmonary hypertension. He performs right heart catheterizations on his patients He also manages other pulmonary and sleep problems in pulmonary hypertension patients.

Dr David Ishizawar, MD, started at MCW in April, 2016 and joined the PH program as associate director. He was previously on faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he completed his training in medicine, cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, and as part of their PH program started an exercise right heart catheterization program and served as site-PI for multicenter clinical trials. In addition to pulmonary hypertension, he treats patients with advanced heart failure, and he has a strong interest in clinical trial participation and medical education.

Tina Stiyer RN, is the current outpatient nurse coordinator. The program added a dedicated advance practice provider (APP) coordinator in 2008 for educational endeavors, and inpatient and outpatient services. The current APP, Amy Kimber NP, joined the program in 2009 and is now very active in PHA committees and education.

PH Program Physicians

• Kenneth Presberg, MD
• Mary Ellen Csuka, MD
• Gaurav Dagar, MD
• Panayotis Fasseas, MD
• David Ishizawar, MD
• James Kleczka, MD
• David Marks, MD

Center Coordinators

• Amy Kimber, RN, APNP
• Tina Stiyer, RN

Duration of Program’s Existence

• Since 1992

Number of PAH Patients Being Actively Managed

• 100-149

Number of Patients on IV/SQ Therapy

• 20-29

Support Services Available

• Cardiac Anesthesia
• Central Line Placement/Repair
• Coagulation Service
• Congenital Heart Disease
• Dietary/Nutrition Services
• Lung Transplant
• On-call Pulmonary/Cardiology Service (24/7 Availability)
• Palliative Care
• Pulmonary or Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral
• Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (PTE)
• Social Work
• Rheumatology

Kenneth W. Presberg, MD

Board Certifications

• Internal Medicine
• Pulmonary Disease
• Critical Care Medicine

Education

• 1979 – BS – Northwestern University, ChemE
• 1984 – MD – University of Illinois

Postgraduate Training

• 1984-1985 – Internship, Internal Medicine, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL
• 1985-1987 – Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL
• 1987-1990 – Fellowship, Pulmonary & Critical Care, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL

Current Faculty Appointments

• Professor of Medicine – Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin

Current Hospital and Administrative Appointments

• 1990–present – Staff Physician, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 1991–present – Member, Lung Transplant Team, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 1995–present – Medical Director, Pulmonary Transplant Program, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 2000–present – Program Director, Combined Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• 2009–present – Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic and Service, Medical College of Wisconsin-Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Awards & Honors

• 1986 – Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
• 1988 – American Lung Association Fellowship Award
• 1989 – NIH-National Research Service Award
• 1992 – Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians
• 1994 – Internal Medicine Residents “Best Teacher Award” | Medical College of Wisconsin
• 1998-2014 – Selected to “The Best Doctors in America”
• 2002 – Elected to Medical College of Wisconsin Society of Teaching Scholars
• 2002 – American College of Chest Physicians, Governors Community Service Award
• 2010 – Medical College of Wisconsin, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Fellows “Best Teacher Award”
• 2014 – Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Engstrom Award for Significant Clinical Contribution and Commitment

Publications

• Click here for recent pulmonary hypertension publications by Dr. Presberg.

Amy Kimber, RN, APNP

Professional Credentials

• Adult Health Nurse Practitioner
• Registered Nurse

Education

• 2005 – BSN – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
• 2009 – MSN – Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Current Professional Experience

• 2009-present – Nurse Practitioner – Pulmonary Hypertension, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
• 2013-present – Clinical Site Visitor, Alverno College, Milwaukee, WI

PH-Specific Activities and Leadership

• Chair, PHA PH Professional Network Education Committee
• Member, PHA PH Professional Network Practice Committee
• Co-Leader, Pulmonary Hypertension Support Group

New and established patients interested in making an appointment with the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Pulmonary Hypertension Service can contact the appointment line by calling:

• Telephone: (414) 805-6633

Last Verified: June 1, 2015