Physicians with Heart: Dr. William Border
William Border, MD, came from South Africa to the United States in 1995 to further his training in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology and gain experience in a world-class environment. He hadn’t intended to stay on but he and his wife, a nurse, enjoyed it in the U.S. and now have three American grown children.
In 2008, Dr. Border became the Director of Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Cardiology, and he is part of the Fetal Cardiology Program. He is mostly based at Egleston, and he also works at the Alpharetta outpatient clinic weekly.
As a professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Border has a strong research interest in the evaluation of heart function in childhood cancer survivors and heart function during exercise. The stress echo program at Emory is one of the largest in the country.
I enjoy working with children and helping them,” Dr. Border said. “Coming from an area in the world with limited resources where there were three cardiologists for 15 million people, I enjoy the fact that Children’s Cardiology offers such top quality and comprehensive cardiac care to kids across the state of Georgia.”
Dr. Border says the camaraderie, teamwork and supportive environment are what make Children’s Cardiology’s culture stand out.
“The dedication and inspiration that we all feel coming to work every day comes from knowing that we’re all rowing in the same direction and with the same goal, which is to provide top quality care to our patients,” he said. “We form close bonds with families, and I’m often inspired by the parents and how they overcome the challenges that come with caring for children with CHD. It’s fulfilling to see patients who have faced hard things like heart surgery at a young age come out the other side to thrive and grow into successful young adults.”
Dr. Border’s other role at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is as a member of the Physicians’ Wellness Committee, which strives to help doctors realize the importance of looking after themselves and balancing their lives at work and at home to be their best selves. Resilience training reminds doctors how and when to take breaks, de-stress and reach out for peer support.
Dr. Border builds his own resilience by spending time with his family and pets, hiking in the mountains with his wife, meditating and practicing yoga, a pastime he recently took up that is helping him cope well with the stresses of the pandemic.
“I have the privilege of looking after other parents’ children with heart problems,” Dr. Border said. “It truly is a privilege that parents trust you to do the best possible job for their children, and it’s not something we take lightly. That trust brings me back to my purpose, and I feel very lucky to do what I do.”
William L Border, MB.ChB, MPH
- Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine
- Director, Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging
Education:
- MD: University of Cape Town Medical School (South Africa)
- Residency: Baystate Medical Center
- Fellowship: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Areas of Focus:
- Transesophageal echo
- Transthoracic echo
- Stress echo
- Fetal echo
Dr. Border primarily works in the Echo Lab at the Children’s Heart Center and sees patients at our Alpharetta outpatient clinic. He is a part of the fetal cardiology team.
For more information about Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Cardiology and our pediatric cardiology specialists, click here.