Dr. Ranaweera started working as the Medical Director of Cardiology at Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan, KS. He was entrusted with the cardiac catheterization program and the acute myocardial infarction intervention program. He also formed the regional STEMI committee and served as its chairman. In 2012, he founded Heart and Vascular Clinics, in order to better serve the Flint Hills region's cardiovascular needs.
Q: What is your family background?
I live with my wife, Lakshika and two sons, Lakith and Dilanka. Lakshika works as a psychiatrist in Manhattan, Lakith is a senior at Kstate and Dil is a freshman in high school. We migrated from Australia in 2005. We are originally from Sri Lanka. Lakith was born in Sri Lanka and Dil in New Zealand!
Q: What fuels your passion to help the community through healthcare?
Average cost in providing health care in the US is the highest in the world at $8,000 per year per person. This is more than double the country with the next highest expense. Despite this, in many ways, the quality of care the patients receive is not any better than most of the developed countries. I feel that our patients deserve better. I am passionate about minimizing this gap for the better and provide the best health care in the world.
Q: Why did you select to specialize in cardiology?
My mother had an extensive heart attack when I was in medical school in Sri Lanka. On another occasion, in my presence, my mother had a respiratory arrest where I had to help resuscitate her. I had also seen a lot of patients with rheumatic fever in Sri Lanka, where the hearts were severely affected. It was only natural for me to get attracted to cardiac care.
Q: How do you give back to the community?
I feel strongly about the communities which supported me to establish my practice. I was originally recruited by the hospital to start the STEMI program ( heart attack intervention program). This program was a huge success, thanks to the community and all the healthcare professionals who supported that. Now that I am established in the community, I want to make sure the patients get the best care they deserve. I have therefore envisioned a total care model for the community, where we have initiated an integrated care model with urgent care, primary care and specialized care.