'I grew up here': For uOttawa Heart Institute surgeon Vince Chan, home is where the heart is

It's no surprise that Dr. Vince Chan feels at home at University of Ottawa Heart Institute. 

"I came here in 2003 as a visiting medical student and I fell in love with the staff here. I applied for a residency and ended up getting accepted.  I started my training in 2005, stayed as a resident until 2011 before going off to a fellowship and coming back on staff in 2012," Dr. Chan says.

"About the last 20 years of my life have been in this building. So, in many ways I’ve grown up here."

Dr. Chan is a cardiac surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and an assistant professor of surgery at uOttawa.  

"The first time you see a heart moving, you kind of fall in love with it," he said.

It’s a love affair with the work and everything it means.

"I feel on a very real level that the only life worth living is a life lived for others," Chan says.

Dr. Chan’s office at the UOHI is decorated with photographs of his family.  Handmade greeting cards to "Super Dad" adorn his walls; crayon drawings and notes with the words "I love you" blanket his desk.  

Dr. Vincent Chan is a cardiac surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is also Heart Month Ambassador. (Photo: Melanie Provencher)

On the day of my visit, the husband, proud dad, and family man is holding a virtual clinic, checking in with patients across the country.  The patients are still with their families because of Dr. Chan, and a large and gifted team of caregivers.

"You guys saved my life, that’s for sure," says one patient during his consult.

"When you wake up in ICU, especially with what I went through, without those nurses there, you’re not going to make it," says another patient.

"Please be sure to let them know," the patient says, his voice breaking.

"I couldn’t agree with you more," Dr. Chan says.  "I’ll be sure to tell them."

Despite having performed countless successful surgeries, Chan underscores the critical importance of teamwork at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.  Saving lives takes a village.

"You need so many different people to do their job correctly to get one patient out," he says.

"So, I think that’s really the joy of the work. In addition to doing the thing that you like, it’s the idea of having to work with others to get a win out of it."

The entrance of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. This month “corporate community heroes” are matching all donations which means your contribution has double the impact. (Joel Haslam/CTV News Ottawa)

February is Heart Month and Dr. Chan is its ambassador.  He’s sharing the story of the remarkable centre of cardiac care and the community which supports it.

"Dr. Keon started this place by providing care to our community and the community provides back. And I think that’s the biggest piece. You work at a hospital where you have patients that want to come back and help raise money, and donors that are so generous to support this Institute. To be at a centre where there is so much community support is definitely appealing," Chan says.

The Heart Institute sees more than 211,000 patients a year. It’s patient satisfaction rate is considered to be among the highest in the province. It’s home to Canada’s largest cardiac prevention and rehabilitation program. 

It’s a leader in telemedicine and telehealth, with a solid record of reducing readmissions of heart-failure patients. It's renowned for its STEMI program, an internationally recognized region-wide protocol that has cut high-risk heart attack deaths by half. 

Its Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre is the first of its kind in Canada, and its ground-breaking research is changing futures.

"Today’s research is tomorrow’s treatment," says Dr. Chan.

"And I think a lot of the work that happens at the Heart Institute, whether it be clinical or pre-clinical, really has the ability to shape the way we look after people."

Dr. Vince Chan in his University of Ottawa Heart Institute office. The cardiac surgeon and Heart Month Ambassador is also a husband and father. (Joel Haslam/CTV News Ottawa)

Buildings and businesses are raising awareness this month by lighting their exteriors in red. Gracious "corporate community heroes" are matching all donations.  That means your contribution during Heart Month has double the impact.

"Heart disease is very prevalent. The community that gives has an amazing ability to transform care at the Heart Institute. Everyone in this building will be faithful stewards of that generosity," Dr. Chan says.

And it’s a lovely way for the community to say thank you to lifesavers, like Dr. Chan, who doesn’t just work in our community, but lives here.  He walks to his job daily, a workplace close to his home and heart. 

"You have this community that’s behind you. People care in this city about the Heart Institute. People care in this city about people with heart disease.  This community is pretty difficult to replicate and I’m very thankful for that."

You can support the University of Ottawa Heart Institute at februaryisheartmonth.ca.