We asked Lisa Barnett, RN, Cardiac Care Coordinator, how donations have helped the Cardiac Care Program.
"I joined SAH [Sault Area Hospital] in 2007 and back then, we didn’t have a stenting program. We performed 1-4 angiograms a day and fitted pacemakers,” Lisa says. An angiogram takes an X-Ray of the heart, helping cardiologists to see any blockages.
As SAH didn’t have a stenting program, patients who needed stents would have to travel to another hospital.
“Patients would see a cardiologist, who would decide if they should stay at Sault Area Hospital to wait for a transfer, or go home and wait there,” Lisa shares. “Being told to go home and wait, after the doctor had found a blockage, was distressing for patients - and in an emergency, every minute counts.”
Now it’s a different story. SAH opened the "Cath Lab" (short for Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory) in 2018, and have performed over 1,100 stenting procedures since then! The equipment used in the Cath Lab was funded by Sault Area Hospital Foundation donors. That means hundreds of people have been able to receive care close to home thanks to local giving.
“Your investment is so valuable. In the Cath Lab, we save people’s lives. We allow people to live longer,” Lisa comments.
SAH Foundation is so grateful for the support of donors from Algoma and beyond. Without their generosity, the Cath Lab would not have the equipment needed to save lives every day.
