New pediatric cath lab opens at HSC Children’s

(March 29, 2020) – A new pediatric catheterization lab at HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital will ensure more Manitoba children are able to access specialized care if needed without having to travel out of province.

“Manitoba is committed to providing better health care services closer to home, particularly when it involves sick children,” said Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen. “The construction of a new, dedicated cardiac catheterization lab for children will ensure more children and families receive care near their support network.”

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure to visually examine how well a child’s heart is working. The opening of a new cath lab, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, will ensure more children get that care without having to travel with family members and their physician to Edmonton or Vancouver. The new lab is expected to treat up to 80 lower-risk children per year in Manitoba.

Since opening on Jan. 20, five families have been able to locally access the service, which is in the Diagnostic Centre of Excellence at HSC Winnipeg.

“At HSC Winnipeg, we care for the sickest children across Manitoba, northwestern Ontario and Nunavut,” said Dr. Reeni Soni, section head of pediatric cardiology at HSC Children’s.

“We are delighted that the cath lab is functioning as we envisioned, which means we’re now able to provide state-of-the-art diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures in an extremely safe, technologically advanced and patient-centered environment.”

With the growing number of patients and specialized care needed, the community response to support the cath lab was overwhelming. Capital costs for the cath lab were $1.01 million and were paid for by donors through the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM), with Barb and Gerry Price contributing $500,000 towards the initiative.

“Our goal at the Foundation is to get the best care for sick and injured children and support their families. This new cath lab and the upcoming Heart Centre will help ensure enhanced patient care, shorter wait times, and local care for families for many years to come,” said Stefano Grande, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. “We’re so grateful to Barb and Gerry Price and all the other wonderful donors who have made this cath lab a reality, and are continuing to help us work toward the Children’s Heart Centre.”

The new cath lab is part of an overall campaign goal by the Foundation to raise $10.9 million to build a new state-of-the-art HSC Children’s Heart Centre. When complete, the new centre will include two additional examination rooms, four cardiologist offices and dedicated spaces for services such as ultrasound, EKG testing and counseling.

“We congratulate the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba and appreciate the support of the community for helping to make this valuable procedure more readily available to families in our province,” said Friesen.

The minister noted the Manitoba government has contributed $2.3 million towards the Children’s Heart Centre as part of its continued commitment to improving health services on the HSC campus. Other recent capital investments at HSC include the:

• recent opening of the new $232.9-million Women’s Hospital;
• construction of a new, $10.2-million interventional angiography facility, to be funded by government and the HSC Foundation;
• the development of a new $5.5 million Ambulatory Care Clinic, as part of a partnership between government and the HSC Foundation and a new 28-bed acute stroke unit being designed for the former Women’s Pavilion.

To support the transformation in pediatric heart healthcare, visit goodbear.ca.