Province announces $5.2 million for Thunder Bay cardiac surgery program

The Ontario government is providing $5.2 million toward an in-developmentcardiac surgery program at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

The province announced the funding on Tuesday, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford andMinister of Indigenous Affairs, Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry Greg Rickfordmaking an unadvertised visit to the hospital to mark the announcement.

Hospital president and CEO Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott said the project is being done over five stagesand is essentially getting the cardiac component of the new unit up and running (the hospital started offering vascular surgery in 2018).

"The hospital finds itself at the end of stage two, which is essentially the review and approval of a functional design and development of the program," she said. "What is it going to look like? How many beds, what kind of services, what will it provide to the community and to the region?"

Stages three, four and five will be implementation, Crocker Ellacott said, and the goal is to have the program completely up and running by 2025.

The $5.2 million announced Tuesday, she said, will fund architectural, planning, and project management work.

When complete, the new unit will include 14 cardiovascular surgery beds, six cardiac care units, expanded ambulatory care and vascular labsand a new surgical suite.

And demand for the service in the region is high, with patients currently needed to leave northwestern Ontario for cardiac care.

"2021 saw a fewer number of patients travel outside northwest Ontario for cardiac care, and that's likely because of the implications related to the pandemic," Crocker Ellacott said. "In prior years, we would see the number closer to 350 patientsand that would just be of a cardiac nature."

Ford, Rickford visit Alstom

Prior to the launch of vascular care in 2018, another 400 or so patients a year would leave the region for vascular care.

Providing those services at the TBRHSC means "asubstantive number of patients" are able to stay home to receive the care they need, Crocker Ellacott said.

The overall cost of the cardiovascular surgery unit is yet to be determined.

The hospital wasn't the only stop Ford and Rickford made during their visit to Thunder Bay. The pair also visited the city's Alstom Plant, where they spoke about the province's recent announcement of $180 million in funding to purchase 60 new streetcars for the Toronto TransitCommission.

"We will have work for you, so please don't be looking for other jobs," Ford told workers at the plant during his speech, audio of which was provided to CBC News by the premier's office. "Stay here, because we're going to make sure we have contracts to keep you going."