St. Mary’s gets $3.6 million to care for more heart patients
KITCHENER — St. Mary’s General Hospital is getting $3.6 million from the province to provide more cardiac care.
The money will fund 793 additional cardiac procedures at the Regional Cardiac Care Centre for Waterloo-Wellington in this fiscal year. The Kitchener hospital will also get $500,000 to support intensive care beds at the hospital.
“We’re responding to your growing needs,” Kitchener Centre MPP Daiene Vernile said while announcing the funding at St. Mary’s on Friday.
“It’s going to provide high-quality care for more complex cardiac patients in our area.”
Vernile had a peek in the two cardiac catheterization suites, which have expanded operating hours to accommodate more patients.
They are the “entry point” to the cardiac program because the state-of-the-art equipment in the suites lets the specialists see what is going on in a patient’s heart. They’re vital to a variety of cardiac services, including angioplasty and stenting to open blocked arteries, heart valve surgery, and implanting pacemakers and defibrillators.
“There’s a waiting list for all those things now,” Dr. Brian McNamara, chief of cardiovascular services.
The funding means more capacity, and reduced wait lists.
“We’ve been struggling with demand,” McNamara said. “This funding will go a long way to help alleviate some of that congestion.”
Caring for more cardiac patients translates immediately into good outcomes that significantly affect people’s lives in the community.
“This is human beings,” McNamara said. “It’s the difference between a kid growing up with a father or not, or a couple growing old together.”