Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love, and at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), it’s also a time to celebrate the incredible people who dedicate themselves to mending hearts every day.
RVH cardiac patients, past and present, are sharing heartfelt notes of appreciation for the incredible members of Team RVH who made their health journeys comforting through compassionate and exceptional care.
Patients like Mary Ann who discovered on her birthday last year that she needed an angiogram which later determined she required heart surgery. Despite the challenges, Mary Ann is back to living life fully. “Every person I encountered at RVH, from the doctors to the nurses, was truly top-notch,” Mary Ann shared. “They didn’t just care for my heart—they cared for me as a person.”
Moments of kindness stood out throughout Mary Ann’s journey, such as a handwritten note from one of her nurses. “It said she believed in me and wished me well,” Mary Ann recalled. “That simple gesture meant the world to me. It reminded me how much heart RVH staff put into their care.”
After completing RVH’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, Mary Ann is back to doing what she loves and has a special Valentine’s Day message for the team who helped her along the way: “You don’t just heal hearts—you fill them with hope and kindness. Happy Valentine’s Day to the amazing team who cared for me!”
RVH’s Regional Cardiac Program delivers care to patients across Simcoe Muskoka at every stage of their cardiac journey. From prevention and treatment to rehabilitation, the program’s impact is far-reaching. RVH is on track to implant more than 370 pacemakers and has already performed 2,491 heart catheterization procedures and responded to 278 Code STEMIs (ST-elevation myocardial infarctions) in 2024-25 — delivering critical, life-saving care when every second counts.
In 2024, 296 participants successfully completed the health centre’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program—an impressive 65 per cent completion rate, well above the Ontario average. This reflects RVH’s unwavering commitment to helping patients rebuild strength and confidence.
With February also being Heart Month, Mary Ann has a message to others: “Take charge of your health—you’re important, too. Learn about your body, pay attention to its signals, and don’t hesitate to seek help. It could make all the difference.”
Photo attached/Cutline: Former Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) cardiac patient, Mary Ann, returned to the health centre to deliver a valentine’s card to one of her nurses, Melanie Belland. As part of February’s Heart Month celebrations, past and present cardiac patients have created a hallway of love filled with notes of gratitude for RVH’s Regional Cardiac Program team.
