CVS Program Literally Groundbreaking
Published Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Message from Dr. Stephen Adams
Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation
On June 10, 2025, the community came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) Program, now under construction at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
I wasn't able to attend the celebration due our son Eric's graduation from the University of Ottawa. But my heart was right there with you as Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation President and CEO Glenn Craig, Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign Cabinet Chair Paul Fitzpatrick, Hospital President and CEO Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott, Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland, and others came together to celebrate the construction of the new CVS Program.
As Paul pointed out, this is a project over a decade in the making. After all the unforeseen challenges and setbacks including not least of all the COVID pandemic, we can now see progress and know with absolute certainty that this is really happening.
That progress is so visible! Nobody who visits the Hospital can miss the towering cranes and other equipment right outside the Main Entrance. Yes, there are disruptions – any project of this size will cause disruptions – but these inconveniences are minor compared to those of the thousands of patients who need to travel to southern Ontario for cardiovascular services. Soon, more patients than ever will be able to get the care they need, right here in Thunder Bay.
Also in attendance was Dr. Barry Rubin, Medical Director of the University Health Network's (UHN) Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. UHN stepped up as a partner in this project from the beginning. First, the Hospital and UHN established a One Program, Two Sites model of care to streamline cardiovascular surgery for patients in Northwestern Ontario. That made accessing services such as cardiac surgery easier for patients and their families. Then, UHN worked with the Hospital to develop a regional CVS Program. After unplanned delays and challenges as well as expanding the size of the project, the CVS Program is finally coming together. As Dr. Rubin said, we are all looking forward to our first cardiac surgery here in Thunder Bay.
What I want to underline here is the vital role donors played – and continue to play – to bring the CVS Program to life. Community support has been outstanding, and we simply would not have gotten here without your help! The Our Hearts at Home Cardiovascular Campaign has raised over $20 million so far, making it the single largest campaign in the history of the Health Sciences Foundation. We are now entering that last push to raise the Hospital's final portion of the funds needed to complete the project.
We have a shared dream to build a comprehensive CVS Program right here in Thunder Bay so that fewer patients need to leave the region for cardiovascular care. Now, that dream is within reach. Thank you for your past, present, and future support to make this dream come true.
Dr. Stephen Adams