'Warm and nurturing environment:' inside Winnipeg's new pediatric cardiac unit
The outdated and crowded pediatric cardiac unit has officially been replaced at HSC Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg.
The new unit is called the Travis Price Cardiac Care Centre, named after a child who died of an undiagnosed heart condition. It’s now located inside the main hospital building and not across the street.
The unit is also double the size of the old one. It has more spacious examination rooms, specialty care labs, and a private communication room where physicians can have sensitive conversations with families.
“Before, if I was giving families bad, complicated news it was often in a dark ultrasound room or in a hallway,” said Dr. Reeni Soni, the section head for the pediatric cardiology program.
Soni said the old space was built in the 1980s and became out of date. That’s because advancements in cardiac care mean more children live through early-life heart complications.
“Now we’re seeing close to 6,000 patients a year in a space that was built to see, at best, 2,000,” Soni said. "So there was a desperate need to move to a space that had more, well-planned-out areas.”
Dr. Soni said she sketched out the basic design for the centre 15 years ago, and when Travis Price’s family approached the hospital to lead a fundraising campaign, she brought the idea forward. Price died of an undiagnosed heart condition as a child.
Stefano Grande, the president and CEO of the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba said $17.7-million was raised by a legion of donors to make the centre a reality.
“Up until today, our hospital has never had a catheterization lab. Forty to 50 kids per year, every single year, had to be transported to other hospitals to get their diagnostics and minor surgeries. That’s now happening here,” he told CTV News.
Dr. Soni said the space is meant to be bright and inviting for kids, but also comfortable and has a natural flow for families there for several different tests and examinations. It’s also closer to the pediatric intensive care unit and emergency room. She added that most of the children will need to come to the centre routinely for care right up until they turn 18.
“It almost becomes a second home to them,” she said. “But even practically, to get the things done that we need to do, like ultrasounds, we’ve noticed we need less sedative medications to get those tests done.”
For the Miller family, the most noticeable change in their son Jaxon is he’s not as anxious to go to the hospital anymore.
“He doesn’t even know he is in the hospital half the time, it’s just a warm and nurturing environment in here,” said Kristyn Miller, Jaxon’s mother.
Jaxon had a heart transplant at four months old. Kristyn said in his first year of life they were at the hospital for more than 100 appointments at the old clinic and many of them were scattered across the Children’s Hospital campus.
“You were racing against the clock half the time because it was just rushed,” she said.
Now the family only has to come to the one spot which is full of interactive play areas that Jaxon runs towards each time they arrive. He also doesn’t mind getting check-ups, which to him just feel like tickles.
Kristyn said the new space, paid for largely by donations, now matches the world-class care.
“It just fills me up so much to know that other people care about sick kids too.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.