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:
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:
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
Donate Today
With the support of southern Albertans like you, anything is possible.