Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie recently opened its state-of-the-art Cardiac Intervention Unit to provide advanced cardiac care to patients in the North Simcoe Muskoka region. Ontario is investing up to $6.2 million in capital funding for the unit, and increasing RVH’s operational funding by $6.7 million.
“The Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program at RVH means patients will be able to get life-saving intervention within 90 minutes of a heart attack,” said Janice Skot, president and CEO of RVH, in a press release.
The Cardiac Intervention Unit is part of the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Heart Program with Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, which runs one of the largest advanced cardiac service hospitals in the province. The province’s support for the new unit will give the majority of people across the region access to treatment for a heart attack within the first 90 minutes.
“We are excited to mentor Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in the development of their Cardiac Intervention Unit and we are proud to continue to provide the most advanced cardiac care to North Simcoe Muskoka residents,” added Arden Krystal, president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre.
RVH’s Cardiac Intervention Unit started completing diagnostic heart procedures on Jan. 9, and it will begin conducting more advanced heart procedures in September. Over the next five years, the hospital plans to provide a full range of cardiac services for patients, including heart procedures, diagnostic tests, inpatient care, intensive care, rehabilitation and an urgent cardiology clinic. RVH estimates that in its first year, the unit will perform about 1,200 procedures, expanding to about 3,700 during its fifth year.
