'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The outdated and crowded pediatric cardiac unit has officially been replaced at HSC Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg.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Soni said the old space was built in the 1980s and became out of date.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
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.