While it may do wonders in improving quality of life for local cardiac patients, a physiotherapy program at Dryden Regional Health Centre (DRHC) simply can’t keep up with local referrals.

There are 12 people waiting to access DRHC’s Cardiac Rehab Exercise Program, designed to help high-risk patients who have experienced cardiac events or who have been diagnosed with underlying heart disease. Closely monitored by cardiologists at Thunder Bay’s Regional Health Science Centre, the regional satellite program aims to safely build patients’ exercise tolerance and teach them how to continue on their own.

“It’s worth the wait as far as I’m concerned,” said one program participant who requested to not have his name published. After two years on a waiting list, the man says the program has allowed him to resume a fairly normal life. “I was in a situation where I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Basically, the doctor told me not to do anything. So, I spent two years doing nothing and I decided that wasn’t very good, so I got into the program to find out what I could do without killing myself.”

Another patient, who also opted not to be named says the program has been a very positive factor in his continuing recovery from a series of heart attacks last March.

“I’m back bowling and I’m getting better all the time,” he said. “Some of the guys at the bowling alley might not agree with that, but it feels good to me anyway. I’ve learned quite a bit.”

Since the program was introduced in 2008, it has seen 16 graduates.

DRHC’s Angela Bujold says there are no easy answers to concerns raised about timely access to the program.

She says space constraints for exercise equipment, staffing levels, and the long three-to-six month length of the program are limiting factors to the volume of patients they can handle.

Only four patients can be enrolled in the program at a time – matching the department’s capacity for exercise equipment – attending two 1.5 hour sessions on a weekly basis.

Bujold says DRHC’s staff of six physiotherapists are fully occupied with additional programs, both in the hospital and out in the community and that program expansion is unlikely in the short term, due to tight budgets.

“We look after all the total knee surgeries, exercise programs at Princess Court, we have therapists who do Home Care for Sioux Lookout, Vermilion Bay, Wabigoon, Ignace and Dryden, plus they see surgical in-patients and out-patients as well,” said Bujold. “Those six physiotherapists have to do all of those things. If we run more cardiac rehab programs, we have to cut back somewhere else. We recognize the need for more spots, but at the same time we’re fortunate to have the level of service we do. A lot of hospitals are cutting out rehabilitation services as a way of saving money and our hospital has not.”

Those who have yet been unable to access the cardiac rehabilitation program are encouraged to contact the Dryden Family Health Team where there are several programs on managing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, healthy eating and weight loss counseling, as well as safe medication use.

- Chris Marchand