VICTORIA WELCOMES PREVENTATIVE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE STUDY THANKS TO PLEDGE TO VICTORIA HOSPITALS FOUNDATION
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is proud to announce that Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) is now home to a new program called, Study to Avoid Cardiovascular Events in British Columbia (SAVE BC), thanks to a generous commitment by donors Al and Eileen Gilchrist. RJH joins four other hospitals in the study—the other heart centres in the province.
The program is designed to help patients, families, and healthcare professionals better identify, treat, and prevent premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). The inaugural patient accessed the program at RJH’s Vascular Risk and Prevention Clinic (VRPC) mid-September.
Dr. Chris Franco is leading the SAVE BC project on the Island and celebrated this momentous win for Islanders. “Our SAVE BC team is proud to offer this preventative program for our at-risk populations—meaning family members of those with CVD,” shares Dr. Chris Franco, cardiologist at RJH. “With cardiac care getting more complicated, complex and demanding over time, our goal as caregivers is to deliver the very best care we can, at the very earliest time we can. Prevention is time—and this program will give back so much of it to our Islanders, and our hospitals. It will also alleviate some pressure on our system by supporting patients before they require more advanced and emergent hospital care.”
Designed to better identify, screen, and study patients and families with premature CVD, SAVE BC is already at hospitals in Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and Kelowna. Local donors Al & Eileen Gilchrist have committed $320,000 to the program through the Victoria Hospitals Foundation to bring it to Vancouver Island.
“Many lives are made better, and often saved, when cardiologists apply their knowledge,” say donors Al and Eileen Gilchrist. “Bringing the SAVE BC program to Victoria allows our local physicians to better share in, and enhance, their toolkit of knowledge for cardiac care. Increasing research-based information of premature heart disease will help patients, their families, and our community at large.”
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation committed to supporting the SAVE BC program last year. “It takes philanthropy to elevate and strengthen the care we rely on in our hospitals. When donors share and trust our vision, we are all better for it,” shares Avery Brohman, Victoria Hospitals Foundation CEO. “We have the utmost respect for Dr. Franco and his team for their dedication to heart health, and the most heartfelt gratitude for Al and Eileen for being catalysts of lifesaving change. Together, they are supporting better heart health for all on Vancouver Island, and ultimately saving lives across the province.”
By participating in the SAVE BC program, patients at RJH now have the opportunity to contribute to data that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of early onset CVD. Their involvement will also provide regional data and, importantly, increase the overall sample size, thereby enabling interpretation of the data and the creation of new knowledge to enhance local treatment. Family members of patients with early onset CVD can be referred to the program via inpatient or outpatient cardiac units at RJH, or through family physicians. This program will be facilitated by the VRPC funded by the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, the Victoria Heart Institute Foundation, and the provincial SAVE BC program.
The initial SAVE BC patient in Victoria is 42-year-old Carlos Gomez. Carlos had early onset heart attack symptoms in 2021, and required cardiac care at RJH—including having two stents implemented. Carlos has a family history of hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol disease), and a desire to support research that will help identify the case of early onset CVD in young people.
“Knowledge is power and comfort. It is important for me, and for my two children who are 24 and nine years old, to understand why I developed cardiac care issues before my fortieth birthday,” shares Carlos Gomez, inaugural SAVE BC patient. “My hope is that by working with Dr. Franco, and a pool of people that have similar experiences, I can support my children and their friends in the future, before they even face cardiac issues.”
Participation in collaborative research is an important way that Island Health both enhances direct patient care and helps to advance medical best practice.
CVD is a leading cause of death across Canada. With a growing aging population, and 24 per cent of those living on Vancouver Island over the age of 65, the opportunity to advance preventative cardiovascular care at RJH is timely.
Patient Carlos Gomez, with Eileen and Al Gilchrist, Victoria Hospitals Foundation donors. Photography by Chad Hipolito.
Victoria Hospitals Foundation CEO, Avery Brohman, with patient Carlos Gomez, Cardiologist Dr. Chris Franco, and Eileen and Al Gilchrist, Victoria Hospitals Foundation donors. Photography by Chad Hipolito.