The WCCHN

07/07/2025

📣 CHD Camp Alert! Heart Beats Children's Society is offering heart kiddos the chance to build friendships, boost confidence, and just be kids. 🧸🏕️

🌲 CAMP EVERGREEN INFO DROP!

Join us Sept 12–14 for a weekend of connection, adventure, and heart community at Camp Evergreen (near Sundre, AB).

🛏️ Heated cabins
🏕️ All meals + activities (canoeing, rock climbing, archery, horseback riding, & more!)
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For families with a heart child seen at ACH or Quarry Park
💲$50 (age 8+), $25 (ages 5–7), FREE (4 & under)

✅ Registration opens Tuesday, July 8 at 9 AM, email: events@heartbeats.ca

Spots fill fast - watch our socials for updates as camp fills!

06/27/2025

Summer is here, and so is picnic season! ☀️ We’re thrilled to share this recap from Virtual Heart Connection, where kids with CHD connect and play, Here’s to building friendships, celebrating strength, and kicking off summer with joy. ❤️ 🧺

06/27/2025

We’re so moved by this incredible project that brings together heart warriors, families, and care teams to celebrate resilience and strength. 💙 Watch and listen as voices from across Canada join in song, showing the unstoppable spirit of the CHD community.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect, affecting 1 in 100 live births. Medical and surgical advancements have dramatically i...

06/03/2025

🎥 New Story Added!
Sometimes the hardest part comes after surgery. In Unspoken, Kristi shares her family’s unexpected journey after their daughter’s second open-heart surgery, and the turning point that led to advocacy, therapy, and a new path forward.

🫀 Unspoken: Finding Our Path With CHD is now live on our Family & Patient Stories page.
👉 Watch now: https://wcchn.ca/kristis-story/

05/30/2025

🎬 New Patient Story Now Live!
When the hospital stay ends, the journey doesn’t. In this powerful digital story, Kristyn shares the unseen challenges her family faced after her son’s heart transplant, and what she wishes more people knew.

🫀 More Than Just a Broken Heart is now on our Family & Patient Stories page.
👉 Watch now: https://wcchn.ca/kristyns-story/

05/27/2025

🧠💙New Resource Alert: Developmental Care in Pediatric Cardiology!
We’re proud to launch a new resource highlighting the importance of supporting brain development in children with congenital heart disease.

Developed with experts Dr. Marsha Vasserman and Veena Sivarajan, this page features educational videos and practical strategies for families and healthcare teams. From theory to bedside care, it’s all about giving little hearts the best start possible.

Explore it now ➡️ https://wcchn.ca/parents-families/chd-knowledge-information-hub/developmental-care/

05/23/2025

🩺📊 Happy National Medical Coders Day!
At WCCHN, we’re proud to celebrate the behind-the-scenes experts who help transform complex medical data into meaningful insights. Our skilled coders play a vital role in making sure the right information gets to the right places, supporting better care for children with heart conditions. 💙

Their attention to detail and sharp thinking directly impact how we learn, improve, and grow as a network. Thank you for helping us put little hearts in good hands.

05/16/2025

💛 Welcome to the Caregiver’s Corner!
Real stories. Honest support. Created by a heart mom, just for you.
Click the link to explore.
🌐 https://wcchn.ca/parents-families/caregivers-corner/

05/14/2025

🌟 Welcome to the Caregiver’s Corner!
We’re proud to introduce a new page on our website created for caregivers, by caregivers.

Caregiver’s Corner is a collection of short stories, videos, and a free audiobook. They are all designed to offer comfort, guidance, and encouragement to families navigating their child’s health journey. Created by heart mom Jennifer Siran from Manitoba, this project speaks from experience and connects caregivers to support in a way that’s personal and deeply relatable. 💛

📖 Take a moment for you.
🎧 Listen to a chapter.
🎥 Watch a story.
🌐 Visit the Caregiver’s Corner: https://wcchn.ca/parents-families/caregivers-corner/

Because when caregivers are supported, kids thrive.

05/12/2025

🏥 Happy National Hospital Day!
May 12 was chosen as the date for to commemorate the birthday of Florence Nightingale, known as the founder of modern nursing. It’s the perfect day to recognize the dedicated teams who keep our hospitals going and provide compassionate care every step of the way. 📣A heartfelt shoutout to the five pediatric heart hospitals in our network, connected by one mission:
❤️ BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver
💜 Stollery Children’s Hospital, Edmonton
💙 Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary
💚 Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, Saskatoon
💛 Children’s Hospital HSC, Winnipeg

And to the many referral centers and clinics across Western Canada supporting heart kiddos and their families on their journey, thank you! 👏

05/08/2025

To celebrate , we wanted to send a heartfelt thanks for all of your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm in delivering high quality work across our health care journey. You are our superheroes in scrubs!

05/07/2025

💙 National Physicians' Day is celebrated on May 1. The date was chosen by the Canadian Medical Association in recognition of Dr. Emily Stowe, the first female physician to practice in Canada.

🩺 Today, we honor not just the incredible Cardiologists, Surgeons, Intensivists and Anesthesiologists that care for our Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) kiddos, but all the doctors that work together to save and change their lives. Radiologists. Immunologists. Electrophysiologists. Geneticists. Pulmonologists. Nephrologists. Gastroenterologists. Neurologists. Neonatologists. Endocrinologists. Hematologists. Clinician Scientists. Infectious Disease Specialists. Psychiatrists. Palliative Care Physicians. Rehabilitation Medicine Physicians. Emergency Medicine Doctors. Hospitalists. Primary Care Providers.

There are so many who rally around our heart kids. Their dedication and compassion are truly inspiring. Tell us your story and let's show our gratitude to these remarkable individuals. 👏