Curlers and other community members alike again showed a lot of heart in Vankleek Hill on Saturday, February 10.
The annual University of Ottawa Heart Institute Bonspiel at the Vankleek Hill Curling Club raised $13,445.25 for the heart health and research facility in Ottawa. The institute serves the cardiac health needs of people from all over Eastern Ontario and Western Québec.
“This is when the community really comes together,” said University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation President Lianne Laing.
The facility in Ottawa sees 220,000 patients per year and performs eight surgeries per day. Laing said the current emphasis is on prevention of heart disease and reducing the need for open heart surgeries.
Effective April 1, 2024, Dr. Rob Beanlands will become the new Chief Executive Officer of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Laing said the institute also has a new Data Science Centre specializing in cardiac health data and is establishing a mobile heart health clinic which will travel to smaller communities across Eastern Ontario to make services more accessible to patients.
The team of Nick Dewar, Norm Dewar, Brittany Cruise, and Connor Quinn won the bonspiel.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute Bonspiel is one of the biggest events of the year for the Vankleek Hill Curling Club. Club members Pitt Paquette and Bruce MacNaughton annually lead the organization of the bonspiel.
Photos by James Morgan
