BARRIE, ON - Napoleon® Fireplaces, Grills, and Heating and Cooling of Barrie made a donation to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) to bring care closer to home for residents of Simcoe and Muskoka. The $125,000 gift will be directed to two areas of future development at RVH—an Advanced Cardiac Care program and a Child and Youth Mental Health program.

“Napoleon has been a long-time partner of RVH and we felt this latest gift was our way of helping the community in a significant way,” says Stephen Schroeter, Napoleon Fireplaces, Grills, and Heating and Cooling. “It’s important to us as a business and as community members that our gift be directed to areas of RVH where there is a current need for treatment. Eighty per cent of RVH’s cardiac patients now have to travel to Newmarket for advanced cardiac care. We want to help ensure residents have access to high quality, safe health care that fulfills their needs within their own community.” 

Currently in Simcoe Muskoka, there are no advanced cardiac services. Patients must travel outside the region to receive the care they desperately need. In the case of a heart attack, time is critical to the outcome. The longer a person waits to obtain medical care, the more damage to the heart. 

The gold standard for treatment is 90 minutes between having a heart attack and receiving advanced cardiac care. Sixty per cent of Simcoe Muskoka residents now must travel more than 90 minutes for appropriate treatment.

“We have committed to fundraising for an Advanced Cardiac Care program at RVH because it will mean the residents of this region will have access to lifesaving care within the 90 minute critical window of opportunity,” says Janice Skot, president and CEO, RVH. “Because of generous donations like this from Napoleon, it also means patients can be closer to their loved ones - their most important caregivers.”

The services RVH will provide include cardiac diagnostics and interventions such as coronary angiogram and angioplasty, giving patients access to faster treatment, a shorter hospital stay and less travel time. 

Another clinical priority for RVH is the development of a Child and Youth mental health program to provide fast access to high quality services, early identification and support for vulnerable children with unique needs. Like advanced cardiac care, these services are currently not available in this region. RVH is working with the government to develop a child and youth mental health inpatient unit, with additional outpatient and crisis support services.  

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