CORNWALL, Ontario – Leaders within our community are being recognized for their generosity towards the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
Community members met with Heart Institute executives on Thursday, Sept. 13 at the Cornwall Golf and Country Club, where it was recognized that Cornwall and SDG has raised $515,000 of the local goal of $1.5 million.
“In honour of the wonderful generosity of the community leaders in Cornwall…I’m very proud to announce that in our new, renovated Cardiac Imaging Centre at the Heart Institute…we are going to name it the Cornwall and SDG Community Nuclear Cardiology Room,” said Dr. Thierry Mesana, President and CEO of the Heart Institute.
Cornwall and SDG residents account for 10 per cent of all procedures and over 6,000 visits annually at the Heart Institute. In 2013, a fundraising campaign of $80 million was launched to support the over $200 million expansion project – the largest expansion in the Institute’s 42-year history.
“We’ve made tremendous progress, but like any fundraising campaign, the first part is easier than the last part…we need as much support as we can get,” said Jim Orban, President and CEO of the Heart Institute Foundation.
Dr. John Paul DeYoung highlighted the evolution he has seen in cardiac care since he started working locally approximately 35 year ago. He noted how privileged our region is to be associated with the Heart Institute and how it deserves to receive continued community support.
“Cornwall might not have the deepest pockets, but a lot of people reach very deeply in this community. I’m astoundingly impressed,” said DeYoung.
“Every day we reach out to the Heart Institute to ensure that patients get the care they require. We enjoy a great partnership,” said Jeanette Despatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH).
Tommy Kaneb, a local volunteer and philanthropist, noted how the Heart Institute is not only Ottawa’s, but it is very much Cornwall’s too.
“If someone living here has a (cardiac) problem, that’s our hospital,” said Kaneb.
In May, Pamela Taylor of Cornwall had a pacemaker implanted to regulate her heartrate. Taylor, who overcame a number of health challenges, resulting in a triple bypass in 2000 and chemotherapy in 2010, moved to Cornwall in 2014 to be closer to family. After being unable to find a family doctor and encountering more health battles, Taylor relied on the help of Nurse Practitioners Nancy MacDonald and Marion Watts, who then introduced her to Dr. DeYoung and he then referred Taylor to the Heart Institute. Taylor feels very blessed and fortunate to live in close proximity to the Institute.
“I am very pleased to see that people here feel that this is their Heart Institute even though they don’t live in Ottawa,” said Dr. Mesana. “We always try to cultivate the family spirit at the Institute so we hope they feel comfortable and safe, and the kindness and compassion. To me this is essential…it’s not just top notch doctors doing complicated procedures, it’s delivering the compassion and a very patient-central approach. We are thrilled with the generosity from the SDG community contribution.”
To find out more about the Heart Institute or to donate, visit https://foundation.ottawaheart.ca/.
