Bringing Hearts Home

Why is There a Cardiac
Crisis in Southern
Alberta?

As of 2024, southern Alberta is serviced by two regional hospitals located in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, and 14 other acute care/community healthcare centres in rural areas.

Not one of these facilities is equipped to provide cutting-edge cardiac treatment that could save many lives each year.

How We're Going
To Make This Right

In partnership, the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation (CRHF), the Cardiac Sciences Advisory Cabinet, and AHS South Zone leadership intend to raise $30M in donations. These donations will be used to fund the creation of a Cardiac Centre of Excellence, along with boosting many other cardiac facilities and programs across southern Alberta.

Target: $30M in donations by winter, 2027.

Main Goals

This $30M - along with funding from the Government of Alberta (see below) - will allow us to:

Upgrade or renovate existing cardiac care facilities, equipment, and services at hospitals across the South Zone

Secure the purchase of new technology to put southern Alberta on par with other regions in Alberta

Improve access to cardiac care for all southern Albertans

Prioritize excellence in heart health by focusing on prevention, detection, and treatment

Recruit and nurture leading cardiology talent

Donate Now

Government Support

We know $30M is an ambitious ask. But by fundraising this amount, we demonstrate to the Government of Alberta our commitment to our own healthcare. And the Government of Alberta has provisionally agreed to provide $250M in additional funding to meet our targets.

Where This Money Will Go

The combined total will be put towards acheiving four clearly defined goals:

GOAL ONE
MORE CARDIAC DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT

Equipment upgrade at Chinook Regional Hospital and Medicine Hat Regional Hospital
Creation of Echocardiography Labs at Chinook Regional Hospital and Medicine Hat Regional Hospital
Purchase of cardiac MRI machine

RESULT: Southen Albertans receive accurate and earlier diagnoses of cardiac issues, improving patient outcomes.

GOAL TWO
MORE CRITICAL CARE AND INPATIENT BEDS

Cardiac / Intensive Care Beds at Chinook Regional Hospital
Cardiac / Intensive Care Beds at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital

RESULT: More southern Alberta cardiac patients receive care locally, not in Calgary or even further away.

GOAL THREE
IMPROVE INTERVENTIONAL CARDIAC SERVICES

Purchase new cardiac equipment for Chinook Reginonal Hospital
Create Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Chinook Regional Hospital
Create Electrophysiology Lab at Chinook Regional Hospital

RESULT: Greatly reduced response times to life-threatening cardiac events for southern Albertans.

GOAL FOUR
INCREASE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PREVENTION

Community-based cardiac health education all across southern Alberta

RESULT: Southern Albertans can make healthier lifestyle choices to mitigate the risk and growing prevalence of heart disease - solving many cardiac issues before they even occur.

From the Front Line: Dr. Sayeh Zielke

Dr. Sayeh Zielke plays a vital role in Bringing Hearts Home as the Cardiac Sciences Physician Lead for the AHS South Zone. Her insights have been instrumental in shaping the project's direction. Here's what motivates her:

"As I was finishing up my education and training at Oxford University Hospitals, I had a clear vision for my career as a cardiologist. My plan included returning to Calgary or a similarly large academic medical centre. However, during my training, I worked as a locum physician at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge and the Medicine Hat Hospital periodically.

That was over 12 years ago...

...but what I experienced during these visits astonished me and grieved my heart. I couldn't believe this vibrant corridor of wealth and industry in agriculture, processing, manufacturing, oil and gas with the third and sixth most populous cities in the province - was so dramatically underserved in terms of access to life-saving cardiac care.

Southern Alberta has the highest need for coordinated cardiac care...

...yet many patients need to be transported 2-3 hours away to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. I felt called to serve this community with my cardiac training and medical skillset but to also help build critically needed services that would save and improve lives for generations to come. Over a decade later I am still here, and have fallen in love with the area and its people.

We are going to address the problem of having the highest cardiovascular death rate in the province and will do so not in two or three decades but in two or three years - we're going to move at the speed of cardiology."

From CRHF's CEO

Together, our Foundation and our community have already done so much. Today, we're asking for just a little bit more.... Your involvement in this campaign can and will make a difference. Why?

Because we're Albertans with a challenge put in front of us. History proves that when we need to, we make it happen.

So let's roll up our sleeves, and make every heartbeat count. - Crystal Elliot, CEO, CRHF