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Kelowna Cardiac Exercise Society (KCES)

Program Location: MNP Place at 4105 Gordon Drive Kelowna

We are a non-profit society that offers inexpensive yet professionally conducted exercise programs for adults. Our members either have had cardiac problems or have joined hoping to prevent them.

 

Please review our program and see if it meets your needs.

Some History:

In 1973 a Kelowna cardiologist Dr Dorrance Bowers, and an internist Dr Ewan Carruthers had the foresight to establish a local program specifically for cardiac health maintenance. This became  the not-for-profit Kelowna Cardiac Exercise Society (KCES) in 1982, providing a low-cost program of supervised exercise to physician-referred participants. This also led in 1998 to the founding of the COACH* 12-week program of cardiac rehabilitation, which so many of our members have completed.

*Central Okanagan Association for Cardiac Health

 

An  associated cardiologist Dr Richard Hooper has recently been recognized for his vision and determination to bring an enhanced cardiac health program to the Southern Interior as reported in the “Kelowna Daily Courier” of July 6th, 2016 ….

“A veteran doctor in Kelowna has been honoured for his contributions to Interior Health, particularly for lobbying for the creation of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre at Kelowna General Hospital.

The lobby of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre has been named the Dr. Richard Hooper IHSC Lobby, which was unveiled in a ceremony Tuesday afternoon.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that Kelowna would not have interventional cardiac services without the tenacious commitment of Dr. Richard Hooper,” said Dr. Sandy Nash, KGH ambulatory care department head. “He is very worthy of this special honour.”

In 1990, Hooper and his family moved to Kelowna from Vancouver. He intended to bring the cardiology programs used in Vancouver to the B.C. Interior.

“I remember working in the cardiology department at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, and our rural patients were waiting far too long to get here for treatment,” said Hooper. “Unfortunately, some of those patients not only suffered, some of them died while waiting. I knew something needed to change.”

In 2009, Kelowna General Hospital became the first hospital outside the Lower Mainland and Victoria to perform angioplasties.

In September 2015, the new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre officially opened.

The centre is equipped with 15 operating rooms, including two dedicated for cardiac surgery and one hybrid operating room.

“Now if you’re sick, you’re admitted to this hospital and you get state-of-the-art care without exception,” said Hooper. “The rate of people dying from a heart attack or the consequences of a heart attack, the permanent damage that happens if you can’t quickly get in and get your heart fixed, has been cut in half in this area. It’s extraordinary.”

Moving forward, Hooper hopes to expand the travelling clinic he runs with his wife, which they started four years ago.

Hooper travels as far away as Nelson and Grand Forks to provide care for people living in rural areas.

Hooper would also like to create a university teaching clinic at KGH, in conjunction with the UBC southern medical program.