Download a copy of the PRHC Foundation’s related media release.
We’re very happy to share that PRHC’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory reinvestment is now complete!
The two existing Cath Lab suites have been entirely renovated and upgraded, and began functioning at full capacity this fall. In the first month that both suites were operational, there were 324 Cath Lab visits, including 279 angiograms and 117 cardiac stenting procedures – some actually performed while a heart attack was taking place!
“After 14 years of supporting lifesaving treatment, we needed to reinvest in PRHC’s Cath Lab to ensure the future of cardiac care at our hospital,” says Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation President & CEO. “Otherwise, patients from across our region might have to be transferred to another hospital hours away at a time when every second counts.”
Dr. Warren Ball, PRHC Interventional Cardiologist and Head of Division, Cardiology, is so excited to thank the donors who made possible the upgrade to state-of-the-art Cath Lab technology. “We’re immensely grateful for the support of the community,” he says. “The Cath Lab at PRHC would not exist without you. Whenever PRHC has had a need, the community has been incredibly generous and has stepped up to help. Thank you!”
Heighway agrees the response to the Cath Lab fundraising initiative was “phenomenal,” adding that “donors from across the region stepped forward with gifts of all sizes, making individual donations, corporate gifts and holding fundraising events in support of this effort.”
Advances in technology have significantly improved the quality of imaging used in the Cath Lab, enabling doctors to perform minimally invasive cardiac procedures, better and more safely, using tools that did not exist when the Health Centre opened in 2008. Having the new suites also means more patients can be treated locally, saving them the time, cost, and stress of travelling to a bigger city centre for cardiac services.
“The new suites have brought the latest in high-tech imaging right to our fingertips,” says Dr. Ball. “They provide the highest possible definition images to allow interventional cardiologists to accurately diagnose and treat coronary blockages and stop heart attacks, while delivering up to 75% less radiation than the older generation systems.”
Dr. Ball adds, “The new suites also contain technology to seamlessly integrate multiple complementary imaging tools with bedside controls, dramatically shortening the time required to complete our most complex procedures.”
He notes that donor support is also essential to PRHC’s ability to bring new cardiac healthcare professionals to the hospital. “As our program grows and we build our Cardiac Centre of Excellence, part of that is recruiting new physician experts,” says Dr. Ball. “The best technology allows us to recruit and keep the brightest new minds that will be the leaders of tomorrow.”
Dr. Peter McLaughlin, PRHC President & CEO, says that PRHC has the tools, technology, and expert people it does today because of the incredible support of donors: “It’s so clear to me as a cardiologist and CEO here at PRHC that it really is the power of philanthropy that makes a vision come to life – in this case a vision of advanced cardiac care at PRHC, serving the patients of this community and this region. Thank you.”
The PRHC Foundation is so grateful to our incredible donors for funding this leading-edge, lifesaving reinvestment – you donated $3.55 million for this priority!
Together we’re shaping the future of cardiac care in our region. Thank you for helping to keep all our hearts here, close to home.
Download a copy of the PRHC Foundation’s related media release.