Thomas L. Wolford, MD
Named a “Healthcare Hero” by the Jacksonville Business Journal and rated a Five Star Physician by Healthgrades, Dr. Thomas L. Wolford is a highly-skilled interventional cardiologist who has dramatically changed the scope and quality of care available to residents of Northeast Florida communities. Known for his exceptional skill at delivering complex treatments through arteries that others find challenging, Dr. Wolford has an outstanding reputation for acheiving exceptional results while exercising sound judgement and always putting the patient’s best interest first.
Dr. Wolford is triple boarded in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Interventional Cardiology and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. After receiving his MD from The Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Wolford performed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital then went on to a cardiology fellowship at the Emory University affiliated hospitals in Atlanta, GA. Following additional fellowships in both Interventional Cardiology and Congestive Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology at Saint Louis University Medical Center, Dr. Wolford worked as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and as a staff physician at John Cochran VA Medical Center in Saint Louis. Dr. Wolford has performed extensive research in the field of Cardiology and is well published having had his accomplished work featured in national medical literature publications.
Upon joining Southern Heart Group, Dr. Wolford successfully made the transition from academia to private clinical practice by focusing all of his efforts and experience on adhering to the highest standards of patient care and advocacy. Having now performed thousands of coronary and peripheral interventions, Dr. Wolford has improved the health and quality of life for countless patients by restoring and improving blood flow to the heart and peripherals. The positive impact that he has had on the communities of Northeast Florida is evidenced first and foremost however by the lives he has saved. As one of only 2 interventional cardiologists in Clay County, Dr. Wolford has saved countless heart attack victims often under the most emergent of circumstances.
A mere 2 years ago, heart attack victims in Clay County were unable to receive the lifesaving coronary intervention that they desperately needed as no facility existed that could perform the required procedure. Patients had to be transferred out of their community to other facilities in the area dramatically increasing costs and time before treatment was received which, in the event of a heart attack, often makes the difference between life and death. It is estimated that every minute someone experiencing a heart attack waits for treatment will result in two million heart cells lost.
Today, that difficult patient transfer is no longer necessary due largely in part to the industry of Dr. Wolford. Orange Park Medical Center now has 2 cardiac catheterization labs and the ability to fully perform both emergent and elective interventions. In addition, the number of cases performed by Dr. Wolford in the first year allowed the hospital to reach its required volume so rapidly that Orange Park Medical Center now offers comprehensive open heart surgery less than 2 years after the first emergent coronary intervention was performed.
Dr. Wolford understands that a patient’s recovery from a devastating event like a heart attack does not stop once blood flow has been restored. He is dedicated to the idea that it is a long process and requires a focused team approach. Thus he was instrumental in the creation of the newly founded Cardiac Rehab Program at Orange Park Medical Center. Prior to the program’s inception, cardiac rehab was unavailable in Clay County and patients were required to travel outside of their community for care. Dr. Wolford’s ongoing efforts for the people of Clay County and surrounding communitites continue to change and improve the medical landscape of Northeast Florida.
Dr. Wolford practices full time at Southern Heart Group’s Orange Park location. He serves as Medical Director for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at Orange Park Medical Center and he is the Medical Director of Southern Heart Group’s nationally accredited Vascular Laboratory.
