Left to right: Nurse Practitioner Kristy Keiffer, Dr. Scott Warner and Nurse Practitioner Glenda Cole
CULLMAN – Chest Medicine (CMED) of Cullman, founded by Dr. Scott Warner in 1996, has earned the distinguished honor of being named an Alpha-1 Foundation Clinical Resource Center Program. CMED is one of only two Clinical Resource Centers located in Alabama.
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic (inherited) condition – it is passed from parents to their children through their genes. Alpha-1 may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age. This condition may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease in infants, children and adults. For each trait a person inherits, there are usually two genes; one gene comes from each parent. People with Alpha-1 have received two abnormal alpha-1 antitrypsin genes. One of these abnormal genes came from their mother and one from their father.
Warner and his staff, including nurse practitioners Kristy Keiffer and Glenda Cole, are honored to be recognized with this distinction.
“We test all our pulmonary patients for Alpha-1 deficiency,” said Warner. “If there is a deficiency, we have (the) opportunity to discuss an individualized treatment plan specific to each person.”
According to the Alpha-1 Foundation website, finding an “Alpha doc” — a doctor who is knowledgeable about Alpha-1 — can sometimes be challenging.
