Eric Fethke

Eric D. Fethke, M.D., is one of the country’s top pediatric cardiologists. He is a board-certified doctor known for successfully treating the most difficult heart conditions in babies and small children. A sought-after speaker, Dr. Fethke lectures nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics including Sudden Cardiac Death in young athletes, prenatal cardiac medicine, and congenital and acquired heart disease in children and infants. In 1998 he founded the Pediatric Specialty Practices of the Greater Hudson Valley in New York, which has since joined forces with Boston Children’s Health Physicians (under the banner of our nation’s top pediatric medical center, Harvard’s Boston Children’s Hospital). This unique community-based practice continues to thrive and expand regionally. He is also the former director of the Pediatric Subspecialty Services of the Greater Hudson Valley and the Orange Regional Medical Center. In addition, for over two decades, he has been a respected medical expert for many lawyers representing patients affected by potential medical malpractice.

Eric Fethke earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, where he majored in music, and his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his General Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship at Babies & Children’s Hospital, which was part of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in partnership with Cornell University. 

Dr. Fethke has worked and taught in several countries including South Africa, Guatemala, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic. He is an advisor and member of one of the nation’s premier cardiac screening programs for children: Heart Screen New York. He has been a teaching faculty member at some of our nation’s most prestigious institutions including Columbia University, Cornell University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Touro University and is regularly invited to lecture at medical centers and practices across New York state. 

In 2015, Dr. Fethke was welcomed as a clinical instructor of the medical school faculty of one of our nation’s newest and largest professional schools, Touro University, based in Hawaii and New York. He has published several peer-reviewed scientific papers in diverse areas of health, including medication therapies for children with severe autism, exercise guidelines for children with congenital heart defects, and evaluation of arterial hypertension. He has also authored chapters in books for genetic syndromes including Noonan Syndrome and Turner Syndrome in the The American Heart Association Clinical Cardiac Consult (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2001-1st Edition; 2011-3rd Edition), which is still used by patients, medical school students, and health professionals across the globe. He continues to conduct clinical research and has published several articles about healthcare policy for international publications, including The Epoch Times. 

Passionate about educating clinicians and laypeople alike, Dr. Fethke also hosts The Pursuit of Health, a podcast aimed at developing a forum for policy discussions regarding healthcare reform in the United States. His ability to explain complex medical and policy issues in an easy-to-understand manner has made him a favorite of his patients, medical students, and legal professionals nationwide. He has recently started a website, www.drfethkemd.com, where he maintains an active blog. In all of his writing, lecturing, and discussions, Dr. Fethke challenges us to look at our roles in healthcare and ask how we can personally and collectively address the problems and improve the system. When not treating patients or teaching medical school students, Dr. Fethke can be found competing in triathlons, cycling in northern Maine, scuba diving with an underwater camera to photograph marine life, traveling throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America, or grilling his signature dish of South African lamb for friends and family. He is also a devoted husband and father of two passionate and proactive young men.