Dr. Jasmine Grewal examines Sam Bennison at the new Prince George VPACH partnership clinic.
Story by Ann Gibbon, Providence Health Care Dec 5th 2025
Preventing patients from slipping through the cracks
Dr. Grewal says the partnership clinics prevent patients from falling through the cracks, since some might find it too onerous to travel to the Vancouver VPACH. And virtual visits do not lend themselves to some of the patients.
Now, she says, “We go out to their communities, work with local healthcare providers, and teach them skills so they can better care for patients.”
She says this roving VPACH is termed a partnership because the rural partners involved are so helpful in connecting with the St. Paul’s teams, scoping out a site for the clinic and checking in patients.
Cardiac care where you live
Several times a year, a St. Paul’s VPACH cardiologist, a registered nurse, and an echocardiogram technician travel to Kelowna and now Prince George to see patients over two to three days. They bring equipment, including an echocardiogram machine, laptops and other items with them.
With the new Prince George clinic, Bennison can now receive regular check-ups closer to home. “It’s been amazing,” he said. “I no longer worry about booking a costly trip just to see my doctor. I don’t have to book off work and I can get the same care right where I live.”
Virani family funding gave VPACH a boost
Dr. Sean Virani, head of the St. Paul’s Division of Cardiology and physician program director for the Heart Centre, emphasizes the importance of the new VPACH partnerships. “There are now more adults living with congenital heart disease than children being born with it,” he says. “Thanks to advances in diagnostics, many heart conditions are detected and treated early, but there’s still a large group of patients who, like Sam, who need ongoing cardiovascular care into adulthood. Our goal with the partnership clinics is to provide them with the care they need without them having to make the costly and time-consuming trip to Vancouver.”
