Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation draws large crowd for Healthy. Together. speaker event with Oak Valley Health’s leading cardiac experts

April 1, 2025 – MARKHAM — On Monday, March 31, 2025, community members attended Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) Foundation’s Healthy. Together. Speaker Series event — Matters of the Heart: A Pulse on Cardiac Care — at The Bridge, a Community Church in Markham. The event drew a record number of guests, hosting more than 250 attendees.

The event was moderated by CTV News’ video journalist, Pauline Chan, who specializes in health-related topics, who brought a unique and relevant insight to the evening. Oak Valley Health experts, Dr. Shruti Tandon, Cardiologist, and Andy Zhou, Nurse Practitioner, discussed the hospital’s holistic and patient-centred care model, and the initiatives to grow the Cardiology program and services. Attendees also learned about the hospital’s leading-edge interventions, specialized clinics and the latest preventive cardiac care information.

“Many of the inpatients I care for have come in through the Emergency Department, either suffering from a heart attack or as a result of congestive heart failure. Being a Nurse Practitioner allows me to work autonomously in many aspects, while still being part of a team and providing comprehensive care to patients,” says Mr. Zhou.

The volume of cardiac patients cared for at MSH is steadily on the rise, and projections indicate that the hospital could serve a population close to 500,000 by 2030. MSH’s plans to advance patient-centred cardiac services reflect the needs of our growing community. Oak Valley Health is currently working towards a Level 4 Cardiac Program status or higher, starting with a collaboration with Unity Health Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital to enhance overall access and open new pathways to timely complex cardiac care. Additionally, there are plans to enhance MSH’s Level 2 Coronary Care Unit. As the government can’t fund all the hospital’s priority needs, support from the community is critical. Without generous donor support, upgrades like this would not be possible.

“There have been developments in the management of heart disease where certain valve problems can be managed less invasively, whereas in the past they required a major operation,” says Dr. Tandon. “Our TEE/Echo program has been supported by MSH Foundation and its generous donors. We have the equipment and the resources that we do thanks to the investment of our community.”

If you missed this informative event, you can watch it here.