North Bay’s first funded cardiac rehab program launches in Canadore College

Several health and wellness partners have come together to form North Bay’s first comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program.

Located in The Village hub at Canadore College, North Bay Cardiac Rehab will help patients with their diet and exercise while they recover from heart disease.

In 2018, George Valin suffered a heart attack while vacationing in North Carolina and had bypass surgery. During his recovery, doctors informed him that he should be able to attend a funded cardiac rehab program locally. But no such program existed.

Valin ended up having to enroll in a local physiotherapy clinic and had to pay $750.

“I have a judicial colleague in Sudbury whose wife started the cardiac rehab program at the hospital in Sudbury,” Valin told reporters.

‘Absolute shock’

“She expressed absolute shock that I had paid for the program here. It was free in Sudbury.”

He discovered there were similar programs in Parry Sound, West Nipissing and Temiskaming Shores, all without cost to patients.

So he began his push to launch a rehab clinic in North Bay.

After years of work, North Bay Cardiology, in partnership with the Nipissing Wellness Ontario Health Team, University Health Network, Canadore College, Nipissing University, YMCA of Northeastern Ontario, and Canadian Shield Health Services, launched the comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program.

“It’s 100 per cent going to be a lifesaver for people,” said Dr. Jari Tuomi, a cardiologist and CEO and founder of North Bay Cardiology, who said there’s a shortage of these rehab programs across Ontario.

“It improves outcomes for patients, improves their quality of life and reduces your risk of dying of a subsequent heart attack by 50 per cent.”

At the clinic, kinesiologists will work with patients on specific exercise programs. Diet and exercise are critical while on the road to recovery after a heart attack or heart surgery.

Patients will attend once a week for 16 weeks and need to be referred by a doctor to attend.

There will also be education sessions led by registered health-care professionals, nutrition workshops and counselling by a dietitian.

Patients will have access to social work, mental health support services and community programs.

“One of the dangers of being someone with heart disease is that you become very sedentary, either through just laziness or fear of activity,” Valin said.

It’s expected it could save more than $500,000 annually in local health-care costs.

The program received $100,000 from the Nipissing Wellness Ontario Health Team to ensure care will be free. The program is in its pilot phase and is seeking sustainable funding.

Executive director Wendy Smith said rehabilitative care can be a financial burden on some.

“For most people, the understanding is that once you finish your acute care journey, the community supports are very difficult to find in northern Ontario,” Smith said.

Valin said he’s happy that his advocacy work has led to this clinic opening, emphasizing it will help many people living with heart disease.

“If I had had my heart attack here now, I would be here. I can tell you because it’s very beneficial,” he said.

Cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada. In Ontario, it accounts for more than 200,000 emergency department visits each year.

Only about 35 per cent of the eligible patients currently have access to cardiac rehab in Ontario.