A new $1.3 million-dollar four-bed Coronary Care Unit was officially opened at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) today.

Chief of Staff at RIH Dr. Todd Ring says it’s an exciting day for patients and staff at the hospital, noting it will mean a specialized level of care for patients in need.

“If you’ve had a heart attack, if you are having major heart problems, you want to be in a unit where the nurses are trained,” he said. “We have the physicians available, the appropriate equipment and the cardiac care unit really allows us to do that in a specialized space.”

Nurses and support staff who will work in the new unit have already undergone specialized cardiac training, and patients will begin occupying the beds on October 1.

“And I’m hoping that this will unlock some further great things for our community. It wasn’t easy,” said Head cardiologist at RIH Dr. Kobus Steyn. “It was a long grind and it needed a lot of focus, but we are really thankful for all the contributions with this and we look forward to certainly a brighter future.”

The unit will be named the ICCHA/Wish Coronary Care Unit – in honour of the charitable group that has raised $1.4 million for health care at the hospital. It was jointly funded by the Interior Health, the Thomson Regional Hospital District and the RIH Foundation.

“For the first time in the history of RIH, four cardiac patients in one location to be treated by very special nurses,” said Al Patel, the founder of the ICCHA/Wish Fund. “This is history in the making for Royal Inland Hospital. Over the last two years, $650,000 has been specifically raised for cardiac care. Today we are very excited to be present at the opening of the ICCHA/Wish Coronary Care Unit, and look forward to continuing to support ongoing cardiac needs for our region.

Patel, and others said they are hoping the opening of the Coronary Care Unit is the first step towards getting a catheterization lab established within Royal Inland Hospital.