By Mike Anderson
Georgia residents recovering from a cardiac event will now have access to leading-edge care closer to home.
Southlake Health is expanding its Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Program to Georgina, with classes starting at the MURC this September.
Once a week, for 6 months, patients referred by their physician can attend 20-30 minute classes with a dietician and social worker before completing cardio and resistance exercises supervised by kinesiologists.
Dr. Chris Overgaard, the cardiologist who heads up the hospital’s Cardiac Department, says cardiac rehabilitation is key to improving patient outcomes.
“Cardiac rehabilitation is a proven intervention that helps people recover faster, reduce risk of future events, and improve long-term heart health,” he said.
“It allows patients to get better rehabilitated from a physical perspective, but also from an education and mental health perspective. It gives them confidence to know that they’re on the right track.”
The official announcement was made by Dr. Paul Woods, President and CEO of Southlake Health, at the MURC on Friday, June 20, with Mayor Quirk and MPP Caroline Mulroney also making remarks.
Dr. Woods said that expanding programs to communities like Georgina is part of the hospital’s vision for a “Distributed Health Network,” which delivers care closer to home.
“It’s an excellent example of how we’re working with communities to meet patients where they are and ensure they have access to the right care close to home,” he said.
“It’s essential to demonstrate to the communities we serve that we’re dead serious about getting into communities, not just parking on Davis Drive and waiting for people to come to us.”
While Woods acknowledges that delivering programs locally helps take the pressure off Southlake – 10 percent of cardiac patients treated at the hospital are from Georgina – he also says it will help boost participation in the cardiac rehab program.
“They don’t have to drive down the 404 in a snowstorm. So we think the utilization of cardiac rehab will go up because currently, some people choose not to go because they don’t want to travel.”
The delivery of cardiac rehab programming follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Southlake, the Town of Georgina, and the Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team (NYSS OHT) on June 24, 2024.
So far, the MOU has led to the opening of a Primary Care Clinic in Keswick, providing in-person care for those without a doctor, as well as the delivery of health and wellness seminars at Town facilities, such as the MURC and The Link.
However, according to Dr. Woods, the proposed urgent care clinic for Georgina has been placed on hold pending a decision on the location of Southlake Health’s new hospital.
Dr. Woods says that the decision will be made later in the summer, with Georgina still in the running, along with Bradford and East Gwillimbury, which are also being considered.
- OPP say no charges expected in fatal collision - June 24, 2025
- MURC to host cardiac prevention and rehab program - June 23, 2025
- Last Rodeo BBQ lassoes a new location in Pefferlaw - June 22, 2025
