TO: All Staff, Physicians and Volunteers

TO: All staff, physicians and volunteers

RE: Premier Wynne visits RVH

CC: RVH Board of Directors and Foundation Board

Date: July 23, 2015

Please post in your department and share with colleagues

Good afternoon;

Earlier today RVH had the honour of welcoming Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne for a visit to deliver some exciting news - the official “green light” for our new Advanced Cardiac Centre. Soon heart attack patients from throughout North Simcoe Muskoka will have access to immediate lifesaving heart care right here at RVH and we couldn’t be more proud of that fact.

Our pride really shone through as we welcomed Premier Wynne with the help of some Blue Brigade volunteers and had a chance show off and discuss our remarkable expansion. Premier Wynne joined us for a tour of the Cardiac & Renal Inpatient unit, the Cardiac Care Unit and ended her visit in the future home of cardiac care at RVH – the fourth floor shelled space. She congratulated us on our upcoming heart program and acknowledged the great work of TEAM RVH, not only for making cardiac care a possibility, but for the exceptional care you provide every day to Ontario patients.

Here’s what Premier Wynne had to say, “I’m very excited about this announcement and what was really evident today was how excited this community is and how much they are behind this collaboration. What that means is it will be a success. Establishing an Advanced Cardiac Centre at RVH will make a real difference to quality of life for the people of North Simcoe and Muskoka.”

Slated to open in early 2017, the Advanced Cardiac program will be developed in partnership with Newmarket's Southlake Regional Health Centre (SRHC) and the Cardiac Care Network.

Currently, North Simcoe Muskoka is the only region in the province without an Advanced Cardiac Centre. That means every year more than 3,600 heart patients must travel to centres outside the region for lifesaving heart procedures. Our centre will provide diagnostics and interventions such as angiograms and angioplasties, giving patients access to faster treatment, a shorter hospital stay and less travel time.

RVH first identified the need for comprehensive cardiac services in 2007 and has since built the foundation to ensure we can fulfill the need. We have grown our team to seven cardiologists which provides 24/7 cardiology coverage, opened a regional Urgent Cardiology Clinic, and opened the region’s only Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) and Cardiac Renal Unit.

An Advanced Cardiac Centre at RVH will not only be a game changer for heart patients in our region, it will save lives. And none of this would be possible without the support and belief of our provincial government, the NSM LHIN, our donors and TEAM RVH. Together, we’re going to do great things for our region’s cardiac patients.

Respectfully,

Janice