Heart Month Kicks Off with Great News
Published Sunday, February 23, 2025
Message from Dr. Stephen Adams
Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation
Well, we got some of the best news possible just in time for Heart Month!
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre announced in January that it will break ground for the Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) Program this spring. Funding will come from the provincial government and of course all donors to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation's Northern Cardiac Fund and Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign.
I'm overwhelmed at the community support. Thanks to the generosity of donors and volunteers like you, we have raised $20 million so far to bring cardiovascular surgery to Thunder Bay.
We've all heard stories from friends and loved ones who had to travel to southern Ontario for heart surgery. We don't always hear about the extra layers of fear that travel adds or the stress on families who can't all go down. The extra expenses, the juggling of schedules. Sometimes at the last minute. All these complications at a time when we need to concentrate on our health.
Soon, most patients will be able to get the cardiac surgery they need, right here at home. Heart surgery fixes the physical, but the mental and emotional journey can be just as difficult for patients. Support from family and friends is key during heart surgery. Thanks to your donations, we are ensuring cardiac patients can get the care they need without leaving the region.
You're also helping bring the most advanced type of cardiac surgery to Thunder Bay: minimally invasive. Now, surgeons perform most surgeries through small incisions. This has so many advantages including less pain, less blood loss, fewer complications, faster recovery, shorter hospital stays, and a lower risk of infection. In short, minimally invasive cardiac surgery leads to better, safer patient care.
As you can imagine, this type of surgery requires specialized equipment. Community support – your support – means that we will have all the right equipment and the cardiac surgeons we need.
Cardiac surgery is the last piece of the puzzle. There will always be specialized cases that send some patients away. But for the vast majority of cardiovascular patients in Northwestern Ontario, they will be able to get the care they need at the Health Sciences Centre.
There is still time to support this remarkable project. I encourage you to visit healthsciencesfoundation.ca/cardiac or call our Donation Centre at 807-345-4673.
I said it before: this is a new era in healthcare for Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. Thank you for everything you've done to ensure patients here can get the care they need, closer to home!
Dr. Stephen Adams