On the Road to Heart Health

PerformanceCars partners with the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South and the May Court Club of St. Catharines to raise $750,000 for new cardiac services in Niagara. 

In order to deliver closer-to-home cardiac care for the people of Niagara, PerformanceCars has partnered with the May Court Club of St. Catharines and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South to raise $750,000 to aid in the delivery of the brand new Niagara Regional Cardiac Catheterization Centre. 

To fulfill this leadership role, PerformanceCars has pledged $250,000 to the Niagara Health System's (NHS) It's Our Time Campaign by taking on the major sponsor role of the Take it to Heart Gala. The gala is a special fundraising initiative of the May Court Club of St. Catharines and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South created to raise funds for the Niagara Regional Cardiac Catheterization Centre to be constructed in the new St. Catharines health-care complex.

The yearly black-tie event will be hosted by the three organizations for the next five years. The first three galas were great successes, raising nearly $100,000 for the labs.

John Mann, co-founder of PerformanceCars, is excited to partner with both clubs. "The May Court Club of St. Catharines and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South have a proven track record and commitment to our community, which has inspired the management and staff of PerformanceCars to take the Niagara Regional Cardiac Catheterization Centre initiative...to heart."

As the major sponsor of the Take it to Heart Gala, PerformanceCars will work with the two community clubs to raise the remainder of the funds over the next five years.

Currently, on any given day, almost seven NHS beds are occupied by patients waiting for cardiac services outside of the Niagara region. Recent statistics show that Niagara residents receive almost 1,800 cardiac catheterizations yearly, with approximately 70 per cent of these procedures being provided in Hamilton. 

Cardiac catheterization is a minimally-invasive procedure whereby a thin flexible tube called a catheter is passed through an artery or vein at the top of the leg/groin or in the arm to reach the heart. X-rays are then used to see how the blood vessels and heart are working.

Each year, the NHS treats thousands of residents for cardiac conditions; but unfortunately, none of our hospitals are equipped to provide cardiac catheterization services," said NHS Chief of Medicine Dr. Mark Jany. "Armed with the capacity to provide this service, the benefit of this new regional program will be seen in state-of-the-art infrastructure and recruitment of additional high quality professionals. Its outcomes will be measured in lives saved."

"PerformanceCars' pledge and the Take it to Heart Gala Committee's intention to raise $750,000 brings us one step closer to being able to provide Niagara's cardiac patients with diagnostic care, right here at home," adds Dr. Jany.

This level of care will be available as early as 2011 when substantial completion of the new health-care complex is anticipated.

For further information on the Take it to Heart Gala, please contact:

Melody Cunningham, The May Court Club of St. Catharines, 905-937-0318

Cathy Henry, Rotary Club of St. Catharines South, 905-688-0138

For more information on the It's Our Time Campaign, please contact:

Bill Hallett, Niagara Health System Foundation, 905-378-4647, ext. 32245