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More than 200 Alumni members and friends who attended the Twenty-first Annual General Meeting of the Ottawa Heart Institute Alumni on June 5th enjoyed an excellent performance by the Heart Institute's musical surgeons, pianist Dr. Marc Ruel and tenor Dr. Fraser Rubens, which was a fitting end to a successful evening. During the business meeting, members approved amendments to the By-Laws, formalizing proposed changes to the Board of Directors and the raising of membership dues to $15.00; the first increase in twenty years. All these changes evolved from a Board planning session held in early February. The participants agreed upon a vision: "As a key stakeholder in the Ottawa Heart Institute:
In support of the vision, six goals emerged from the discussions:
Your Board has since concluded that its focus should be policy. Operational matters will be dealt with by committees, chaired by a director who will report to the Board and made up of Alumni members interested in assisting in various activities:
Any member who is interested in becoming a director of the Alumni or who would be interested in joining one of the committees can call the Alumni office at 613-761-4370, email to info@ottawaheartalumni.ca or call me, Dennis Doucette, at 613-224-2820. As a policy Board, it is expected that meetings of the Board will be less frequent and the numbers of directors can be reduced from thirteen to nine. As well, the term of office of a director is reduced from three to two years but a director may seek re-election for a maximum of three terms. Similarly, the terms of officer positions are reduced from three to two years. The members attending the AGM approved amendments to paragraphs 7, 8, 22 and 34 of the By-Laws. Following the dinner, Dr. Rubens, as Program Director in Cardiac Surgery, presented the Wilbert J. Keon Award for 2007 to resident Dr. Munir Boodhwani and John Herzog presented the Mary Clinckett Alumni Award for 2006 to Joanne Morin, Nurse Coordinator of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic. Certificates of appreciation were presented to Jim Phillips, retiring from the Board after some twelve years as a director, Vice-President, President and Past President, a tremendous contribution to the Alumni, and to Louise Guilbault, retiring as Secretary upon completion of her three-year term. I wish also to express thanks for their service to the Alumni to Gene Szabo who, after seven years as Treasurer and Vice-President, has decided to leave the Board, to Eric Breton, retiring after three years on the Board and to D. Bayne (Sam) Perrin, Hugh Spence, Lise Martens and Scott Chamberlain, who resigned from the Board during the year for personal reasons. Subsequent to the AGM, a meeting of the Board was convened to elect officers for 2007-2008. John Herzog was elected President and E.J. (Ted) Legg was elected Secretary-Treasurer. The position of Vice-President has been left vacant for the time being. Directors as at the time of the meeting are Hubert Drouin, Ann Stolarik and Daniel Letouze. As Past President, I look forward to John Herzog's leadership and I will do all that I can to support him as we continue to strive to achieve the objectives of this unique organization and help the Ottawa Heart Institute excel in the provision of services so critical to us. My thanks to all members and, in particular, Board members and staff of the Heart Institute who have supported the Alumni. Dennis Doucette 
While Chief of Cardiology, he founded the Coagulation Clinic some 4 years go. Its primary objective is to help those who must take anticoagulant medication (such as Coumadin) to prevent blood clotting. Without these medications, blood clots could develop blocking circulation to vital organs or moving within the circulation and causing complications such as heart attacks or stroke. The second objective is to assist patients who need to stop taking anticoagulants because of an impending major intervention. The anticoagulant needs to be stopped in order to prevent bleeding that would occur with procedures such as surgery or major tooth extraction. In this situation, Heparin is administered under the skin during the time that the Coumadin activity wears off and the surgery takes place. After the surgery, Heparin is continued until Coumadin can be re-established. The Clinic is well positioned to assist such a "bridging" period between the stoppage and the start of medicines to avoid uncontrollable bleeding. Anticoagulation is appropriately controlled by careful administration of anticoagulants and regularly measuring and monitoring the patient's clotting system by measuring INR (International Normalized Ratio) and adjusting the dosage of the medication. This Clinic also provides the patient information and education on the impact of various foods or liquids (e.g. alcohol) or other medicines on the INR. Typically, blood is drawn at regular intervals from the veins of the arm to measure the INR test. This can be both inconvenient and painful particularly if access to the veins is difficult. The vial of blood is then sent to the lab with the results made available to a medical professional later that same day or the following day. By contrast, the Coagulation Clinic obtains a few drops of blood from any of the patient's finger tip. This is a minimally painful and quick process. A small machine immediately analyzes the drop of blood and the INR reading is provided in less than 2 minutes. The benefits to the patient include less pain, less time, and quicker corrective action to maintain the right level of INR. The Coagulation Clinic employs a highly experienced, fully dedicated nurse practitioner who gets to know the patients well through regular face-to-face visits. The nurse will note changes in patient lifestyle, eating habits and so on, that can have an adverse effect on the INR This close relationship and monitoring can be invaluable in correcting the situation quickly and in providing advice regarding fundamental changes required, whether in medication dosage or in other areas. Those who wish to use the services of the Clinic must be referred by a physician at the UOHI or by a family doctor. The Clinic is located on the second floor of the UOHI where the doctors' examination rooms are housed. The Clinic is funded by the UOHI from its global budget, as the Provincial Government does not do so directly. At this time, this is the key limiting factor to enlarging the Clinic to meet the demand that is expected to increase at over 20% per annum in each of the next three years. There is another important role for the Coagulation Clinic in the near future. The clinic may provide "Point of Care" testing for patients in the Heart Institute who require INR measurement quickly and easily. These patients are frequently in the Institute for day procedures such as cardioversion. Of course expanding the range of services will necessitate adding more staff. This raises yet again funding issue. The UOHI Administration is doing its best to meet expanding needs with limited resources. Finally, Dr. Higginson stressed the Administration's gratitude for the Alumni's generous and quick action in the summer of 2006 when the UOHI was faced with closing the Clinic due to budgetary constraints. Urgently, the Alumni provided the required funding to cover the costs for the remainder of the year. He emphasized that this is another example of how your donations are helping the UOHI to improve its healthcare programs and operations.
DANIEL LETOUZÉ has a Ph.D in Health Economics, and taught for many years at the University of Ottawa. Daniel worked for the Canadian Hospital Association (CHA) as Vice-President and for the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Ottawa and in West Africa. In short, he spent his entire career in the health field. Daniel agreed with pleasure to serve on the Alumni Board after speaking with Louise Guilbault (our retiring Director) and reading some background information on the role and responsibilities of the Board.
We noted that the new UOHI pin on one lapel was beautifully counterbalanced on the other lapel with his Order of Canada pin! Congratulations, Dr. Pipe, a well deserved honour. At the outset, Dr. Pipe put forward the thesis that in order to eradicate major diseases, both socio-economic changes leading to prevention as well as cures are required. The high rate of cardiovascular disease is partially the result of the agricultural and industrial revolutions that provide Western Civilization plenty of food and a more sedentary lifestyle. We now have a large variety of food, many causing build-ups and blockages in coronary arteries leading to strokes and heart attacks. The growing obesity rate in children is alarming. Today's generation is more likely to stay at home to play video games while snacking in contrast to previous generations who played more outdoors, walked and bicycled, and ate less and healthier foods. So the first line of attack is prevention. As Louis Pasteur said; "Whenever I meditate about a disease, I always think of preventing it, rather than finding a cure". Dr. John Snow was a British physician who is considered one of the founders of epidemiology for his work identifying the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho in1854. At the time, it was assumed that cholera was airborne. However, Snow argued that in fact germs entered the body through the mouth. After careful investigation, including keeping track of houses where cholera deaths occurred and plotting them on a map, he was able to identify a water pump on Broad Street that leaked sewage and was the source of the disease. This situation brought into prominence the importance of urban planning, density of dwellings, and living conditions. Urban planning has evolved over the past century from high density crowding that gave rise to slums, overcrowding and pollution leading to infectious diseases to today's sub-urban low density living that results in isolation, alienation and continuing pollution, fostering chronic diseases. Socio-economic changes are required to address infrastructure needs and make urban design more people and ecology friendly. For example, an individual who spends 2 hours a day commuting will spend the equivalent of eleven 40-hour weeks a year so doing. Clearly we must find a better way. Dr. Pipe drew attention to the fact that change happens when there is a:
Finally, we were reminded that Willie Sutton was a notorious bank robber in the 1940s. When asked why he concentrated on robbing banks, he responded simply "I rob banks because that's where the money is!". Today we are looking for the biggest bang for our investments. In avoiding cardiovascular disease, the biggest bang is in smoking cessation. Mortality after an incident can be reduced by as much as 50%. There is a need to continue to educate the public and hospitals must place greater focus on how many of their patients are smoking and help them to stop after they are discharged. In this regard, the Heart Institute has achieved remarkable success by demonstrating that through its program, the percentage of patients who have continued to stop smoking after a year has risen from 35% to 50%. The program is now being implemented in every regional hospital in the Champlain district. The attendees warmly acknowledged Dr. Pipe and his presentation. Alumni President Dennis Doucette thanked him for providing the members with a most valuable and entertaining presentation and opportunity for discussion. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Pipe again. Editor's Note: Dr. Pipe kindly permitted that his presentation be videotaped.
Editor's Foreword: We requested, Tom Hewitt, President of the Heart Institute Foundation, to share with our readers a bit of the Foundation's history, its goals for the 21st century, the great benefits that donations are providing in advancing the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and finding their causes. We are indebted to Tom for the following information. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute established its own Foundation in 1993. At that time, the Heart Institute was experiencing tremendous growth and having a major impact in the research and treatment of cardiovascular disease. It was deemed essential that a new resource at the Institute be created to ensure appropriate funding to sustain excellence in research, education and patient care, and so the Foundation was born and to this day serves as the fundraising arm of the Heart Institute. While it would be marvellous if our governments provided all the funding required by healthcare organizations like the Institute, so that fundraising bodies like the Foundation are not needed, it is simply not realistic. So, the Foundation is the conduit between the community and the Institute and enables those who wish to support the mission of the Institute through philanthropy to do so. The Foundation is composed of two groups who form a critical partnership: a Volunteer Board of directors (25) largely made up of community leaders who hold the Institute in high esteem; and a full-time, paid, professional staff (12). The staff is augmented by 10 volunteers who, on average, each work one half day a week and play an important role in administration. Recently, a longstanding, friendly association between the Foundation and the Heart Institute Alumni was transformed into an important partnership based on trust and cooperation - this exciting development ultimately will have an extraordinary impact on the future growth of the Institute. The priorities of the Foundation are set by the leadership of the Institute and validated by the Foundation Board. For many years the Foundation was asked to raise funds primarily for "bricks and mortar" projects and new medical equipment. A new direction was charted in the late 1990's as the Institute, in cooperation with the Foundation, decided to concentrate almost exclusively on raising money for growing its research program with donations - this focus has continued under Dr. Roberts. Dr. Roberts believes that it is possible to beat heart disease by 2050 and has stated, "it is not feasible to have excellent patient care without research". With that in mind the Foundation has been asked to build a $100 million endowment for research - the importance of which will be profound for the patients of the Institute. To date, thanks to our generous supporters we have made tremendous progress with over $30 million in the bank and additional commitments of about $25 million. Specifically we have established 5 fully funded (minimum $2 million) endowed chairs. These prestigious Chairs will help the Institute retain and recruit the very best medical professionals to live and work in our community and do leading research.
Four endowed research fellowships ($1 million each) have been created and will dramatically increase research at the Institute. The research fellow is truly the backbone of any research program. Senior medical professionals devote 1-2 years of their professional life to the research funded largely by the fellowship. The transformation of the Heart Institute to a research juggernaut is well underway with the addition of these new fellowships our short-term goal is to add 7 more fellowships for a total of 11 fellowships to support 11 worldclass researchers.
Eight endowed lectureships are in place ($250,000 each) - permanent funds that enable the Institute, annually, to bring the world's foremost experts in cardiovascular medicine and research to the Heart Institute for a formal exchange with our team.
Endowments have had a remarkable impact on organizations like the Heart Institute. World-renowned institutions like Harvard University, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (Sick Kids) and others would not have reached their current level of excellence without the help of endowments. Other developments made possible by the support of our community include:
With heart disease still the #1 killer of all disease-related deaths, it is important that the Heart Institute be in a position to contribute in a seminal way to the research being done to eradicate heart disease. As noted earlier, Dr. Roberts has stated that he and other leading scientists believe this is the last century of heart disease - an exciting prospect - and the Heart Institute aims to be part of that profound change. Those who have made financial contributions to the Institute through the Foundation share in this exciting prospect and we are grateful to all of our supporters for their confidence and philanthropic spirit! To those whose donations we may earn in the future, we invite you to support research or any other area of the Institute. Donors may always designate their gifts to a preferred area. Finally, the most public manifestation of the Foundation is our Telethon. Once a year we showcase the tremendous staff and volunteers at the Institute, share patient stories and thank our generous contributors. Anyone wishing to know more about the Telethon or other means of donating should contact the Foundation at their convenience. Kindly call 613-761-4790 or visit the website at www.ottawaheart.ca/UOHI/Donation_8.do.
Like many of our Alumni members, I have been a faithful watcher and contributor to the annual University of Ottawa Heart Telethon. I felt great pride in the generosity of the people of Ottawa and the Champlain Valley. Each year there is an outpouring of financial and emotional support for the Heart Institute and its staff, recognizing their far-reaching healthcare achievements. In 2007, I had the opportunity to participate in the Telethon. At first I had some apprehensions about volunteering in such a high profile public event, but my desire to be of help outweighed my concerns. I put my name down to be at the Scotiabank Place by 4 pm on Sunday afternoon with a scheduled 5-6 pm "on air" stint to respond to the phone. On arrival, volunteers checked me in and guided me to the restaurant where finger food, cookies, coffee, and soft drinks were available for participants. Next we were invited to go to one of the downstairs meeting rooms where about 60 chairs were set up in theatre style. Some of the 5 or 6 large-screen TV's were showing the live telecast from next door while others were running a film providing us a walkthrough of the process of fielding calls, completing pledge forms and getting payment information including credit card numbers. Friendly, bilingual volunteers were available to respond to our questions. They also warned us that the main room where the telethon is broadcast will be very noisy, given ringing phones, volunteers responding, applause for the cheques that were being formally presented, and various live interviews, video clips and testimonials that were being aired. Everything seemed clear and straightforward... until I entered the studio and sat down in my designated seat. It was 5:01 pm. No phone call. Now I had a moment or two to look around. There were miles of cables, a host of TV cameras, well known CJOH on air personalities, some interviewing, some preparing for the next presentations, a director waving. Suddenly, I heard my phone ring. I scrambled for the pledge form and my pen. I found it and reminded myself to press hard as "you are making several copies". It was very challenging to hear the caller; there was much more noise in the studio than I expected. It was difficult to discern who was more nervous, the first time caller or me. I asked her to repeat the information, explaining the noise factor. She was very patient with me and spoke louder. She apologized for calling so late when we were so busy. She planned to call after lunch but she fell asleep. I thanked her. I felt great, my first pledge was done, and I was ready to tackle the rest! And the rest came fast, not a moment to lose. We wanted to make sure that we could field as many calls as possible before the 6pm deadline. Several callers told me about their great respect for the UOHI. How blessed we are to have such a worldclass facility in Ottawa. How successful their heart operation was and the gratitude they felt towards their doctors. After Dr. Roberts and Max Keeping thanked the public and the Telethon participants, some 20 children filled the studio bringing cupcakes for the volunteers and CJOH staff. The bright lights dimmed, the telethon was finished... everyone smiled. Last year's donations were exceeded, a new record was set, hopefully to be exceeded next year. And we all felt our hearts beat faster (thankfully in rhythm) for having been able to be part of this success. I highly recommend that you seize the opportunity to participate in this worthy and feel-good Telethon. I hope I will have further opportunities as well.
 David Bradshaw with Leny Van Ryn-Bolland Staying motivated to exercise after a heart event isn't always easy. But for 72 year old David Bradshaw, having a clear goal keeps him on track. David has set his sights on walking across Canada using a website which uses GPS to measure his daily walking distance against the map of Canada. So far, David has walked from east to west across Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Currently as of June 2007, he is crossing Vancouver Island and his total is in excess of 4500 km. In March of 2005, David had exertional shortness of breath which brought him in for a cardiac work-up. He required a total of 4 stents in June 2005 to open up his coronary arteries and restore good blood flow to his heart. After his procedure, he attended the cardiac rehabilitation program at the Heart Institute graduating in Dec. 2005. On Nov. 1, 2005, he found the website www.gmap-pedometer.com and since then he has never looked back. David measures his daily walking distance using a Garmin GPS, a fancy pedometer capable of measuring time, distance, speed, slope, calories burned, etc. and then posts that distance on the web site. He says it is really a simple thing to do and he feels a sense of accomplishment from seeing the distance he is walking adding up. He is also contributing his mileage, along with about 160 other people who post their walking distance on the web site www.horsetooth.net/walk called Walk Around the World. For David, accumulating distance walked into a larger distance has kept him going for the past 2 years. This May, he walked in the National Capital Race weekend 5 K walk with his wife and 2 granddaughters. In July, he plans to do the Running Room 20 Minute Challenge and the CIBC Run for the Cure September 30th. His risk factors remain under good control, his blood pressure has come down and his weight is in a healthy range. Once across Vancouver Island, he will begin to think about his journey East from the Ontario-Quebec border towards St John's, Newfoundland. Once David reaches his goal, his physiotherapist plans to treat him to a glass of good quality red wine to celebrate. His physiotherapist, Leny says "David is a role model for people who want to stay motivated. He is very enthusiastic about his accomplishments and he should be proud of what he has managed to do. After 2 years, he is still motivated." I hope that by reading this article, you too will think about what your own fitness goals are and then take small steps every day toward bigger goals. Editor's note: Thank you David for this highly encouraging first person story; keep up the good work! We always welcome our members to share their success stories.
Since the early 1980s the Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute has provided excellent encouragement, information and care to many Alumni members. In the early 1990s a Heart Check Centre was started and it has evolved into the present Heart Health Education Centre. The Heart Health Education Centre is located on the Second Floor in Room H2342 of the Heart Institute at 40 Ruskin Street. Contact links are by phone at 613-761- 4753 or 1-866-399-HHEC (4432) and the HHEC website is at www.ottawaheart.ca/HHEC. The overall goal of the fifteen professional staff members of the HHEC is to provide a place where patients, the general public and health professionals can access accurate up-to-date information. They provide service within the Champlain Region which stretches from Deep River to Cornwall. That region has 1.2 million people, 21 hospitals and 4 Health Units. As I learned about the wide range of services provided by the Heart Health Education Centre, I realized the tremendous impact it does and can have on the lives of so many in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and indeed the world. In this brief article, I can only give an outline of the range of programs at the Heart Health Education Centre. Information Services:
HHEC Pilot and Ongoing Programs:
The Heart Health Education Centre is open to the public Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The general enquiry number at the HHEC is 613-761-4753 and anyone can access information at the Alumni Website, the HHEC website and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute website. Individuals can utilize the services at the Heart Health Education Centre without a doctor's referral. Rehabilitation programs at the Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre do require a physician referral In future the HHEC would like to use technology to allow access to information direct from people's homes. Using technology they can access information on their time and don't need to drive to and park at a centre. Future plans include rehabilitation services over the phone and on the internet to local and more distant patients. The HHEC, will place greater emphasis on preventive services and focus on family members of heart patients. Risk factors are genetic and environmental. Dr. Roberts has encouraged a genetic focus on research and over time new genetic screening techniques and gene based therapies will become available. In the shorter term, programs are available now to assist people to change their individual behaviour to reduce risk factors and thereby decrease the probability of heart problems in the future. This can perhaps be achieved by initial screening and then follow-up intervention. The HHEC will also be exploring alternatives for delivery of services. The internet, phone, audio and video can all be utilized. In the future, it will probably be possible to utilize a computer to personalize an information booklet for individuals. When I met with Dr. Robert Reid, Associate Director of the Minto Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre of which the Heart Health Education Centre is a sub-unit, I asked him if he had a specific message for Alumni members. Dr. Reid told me that he would encourage Alumni members to focus on talking to family members - brothers, sisters, their spouse and children. He suggested the Alumni members invite family members to visit the HHEC website to learn about Heart Health and to share information. Funding for the Heart Health Education Centre comes from the Heart Institute main budget. Research funds come from Government and Industrial funding. As an Alumni member, I was pleased to note that the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Alumni also provides funding for HHEC programs. I would encourage Alumni members and their families to go to the HHEC website, visit HHEC to buy or borrow materials and to attend the excellent information lectures and workshops provided by staff at the Heart Institute. We are indeed fortunate and privileged to have such a wonderful place and staff for information and care in our region. Editor's Note: This article was researched and written by Garnet Timm who is a retired educator and long time Alumni member and volunteer. Thank you Garnet! By the way, you can also access the latest HHEC schedule of workshops through the Alumni web site at www.ottawaheartalumni.ca.
The Annual General Meeting was held on June 6, 2007 with the Board of Directors and close to 200 members in attendance. The formal proceedings included a presentation by our Treasurer, Ted Legg, who indicated that since the inception of the Alumni, close to $2 million has been provided to the UOHI to support important equipment and services needs. In 2007, over $200,000 has been committed already.
Our President, Denny Doucette thanked the Alumni for their continuous generosity in donating and explained how the Alumni is working closely with the HI Foundation to continue and grow this tradition of excellence.
A number of amendments to the Alumni Constitution was also passed by those present that dealt with reducing the size of the Board from twelve to 9 and that Directors and Officers will be elected for two-year terms instead of three years. Past President Jim Phillips presented the report of the Nominating Committee and new Director Daniel Latouze was elected. Foundation President Tom Hewitt presented a plaque to the Alumni Board of Directors in recognition of its dedication and commitment to patient care at the UOHI. This plaque will be installed in the lobby of the UOHI on Ruskin Avenue.
On behalf of the Alumni, Drs. Beanlands and Rubens presented the Wilbert J. Keon Award to Dr. Boodwhani and Board Director John Herzog congratulated Joanne Morin as the worthy recipient of the Mary Clinckett Award.
Dr. Boodhwhani received the prestigious Wilbert J. Keon award based on his eight years of accomplishments with the UOHI where he excelled in research as well as in his role as Chief Resident in Surgery. During that period, skeletonization techniques were introduced to the UOHI arterial grafting program for bypass surgery. Dr. Boodhwani identified problems with the current harvest techniques and he independently conceived a prospective trial model (ITAH trial). He was entirely responsible for the unique patient design in this trial and validated the model and the database. Dr. Boodhwani's ITAH trial was published in Circulation this past year (accepted without revision) and its impact was recognized by Boston University. This paper is now the undisputed reference on this topic and it will likely be not only one of the most highly cited clinical papers to come out of the Ottawa Heart Institute, but certainly the most definitive paper on this topic in the global literature due to the unique project design. In addition to studying with Dr. Rubens, Dr. Boodwhani also attended Harward University. Overall, he is a most worthy candidate for this award of excellence. Joanne Morin is a Registered Nurse and a long-time staff member at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Since 2001, she has been Nurse Coordinator of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic at the Institute, playing a key role in the development of the Clinic.
Her dedication and excellence in patient care and teaching, team building, research, liaison with other centers, database development and office management have made Joanne the central pillar of the Clinic. With the expansion of the Clinic and increases in patient volume and the array of services provided, the quality of care has not only been maintained but it has reached new levels of excellence, very much credits to Joanne's sustained dedication, quality of work and a strong work ethic. Joanne has also played important roles in the field of congenital heart disease at the provincial and national levels, helping to raise the profile of the Institute. Her hard work and professionalism exemplify many of the core qualities that make the Ottawa Heart Institute such an outstanding establishment.
Globally well known UOHI heart surgeons, Dr. Fraser Rubens (tenor) and Dr. Marc Ruel (pianist), delighted attendees with selected pieces from their highly regarded classical repertoire. They indicated that their performance was their way of thanking the Alumni for the important support received over the past decade. A standing ovation from a captivated audience followed their performance. We hope that we will have the pleasure of hearing them again at a forthcoming AGM.
The Alumni is pleased to announce that on behalf of its members and in close consultation with the doctors and senior nursing staff at the UOHI, it has committed close to a quarter of a million dollars in 2007 for the following highly sought items:
Total expenditure to date of $231,716.96. Once received, the equipment, furnishing, and services will have considerable benefit in the delivery of healthcare at the Institute and ultimately for the UOHI cardiac patients. Thank you everyone for your kind donations. They are hard at work!
Well, here is another edition of The Bulletin that we hope you will find interesting as well as informative. We are intent to continue to improve the quality and relevance of The Bulletin and of the "ottawaheartalumni.ca" website. You might have already noted that the website is continuously updated with a new article or information piece appearing every month to six weeks. We would like to quicken the pace, but as volunteers we can do only so much. In our quest for steady improvement, we are most pleased to warmly welcome Garnet Timm whose article already appears in this issue as well as Ellen Corkery-Dooher who will assist us in designing and implementing our Communications Program. But there is room for more volunteers, so if you can spare the time and "give back" to the UOHI, please send us an e-mail or contact our office. 
You will be treated to an excellent presentation on how far today's cardiac surgery methods and techniques have advanced and what is in store in the future to make surgery even more successful and "patient friendly". When: October 18, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. (light refreshments at 7:00 p.m.) Please confirm by phone at 613-761-4370 if you wish to attend as seating is limited. Spouses welcome.
The Bulletin is published in Ottawa by the Ottawa Heart Institute Alumni Inc., a not-for-profit corporation located at 40 Ruskin Street. It is distributed free to members of the Ottawa Heart Institute Alumni and contains information on health and other matters of interest to members. Contents do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Board of Directors, nor does the Ottawa Heart Institute Alumni Inc., nor the producers, nor the printers and distributors of the publication assume any responsibility for opinions expressed. All communications and contributions should be sent to the address below. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40045889 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: The Bulletin Editor Editor: John P. Herzog Contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission. The Bulletin is intended for general information only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific conditions. You should seek medical advice for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting a new fitness regime.
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Dr. Higginson, MD, FRCPC received his medical degree from McGill University in 1971. He trained in internal medicine at McGill and in cardiology at Emery University as well as the University of California in San Diego. Dr. Higginson was admitted as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in internal medicine (1976) and in cardiology (1977). He is presently a full professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, a former Chief Cardiologist of the UOHI, and now cardiologist with its Division of Cardiology.
The intriguing title of this excellent presentation was: "Willie Sutton, Louis Pasteur and John Snow". Some one hundred participants came to find out how these three individuals link in the mind of our highly knowledgeable and entertaining speaker, Dr. Pipe. Dr. Pipe, who is known to many of us, is the Medical Director, Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre, University of Ottawa Heart Institute as well as Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa.
