University of Ottawa Heart Institute at the Ottawa Civic Hospital

Founded in 1969, the University of Ottawa Cardiac Unit at the Ottawa Civic Hospital became the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in 1983. A joint venture with the Ottawa Civic Hospital, the $18 million cardiac treatment and care facility is located at the Civic but is attached to the Faculty of Health Sciences. Under the direction of Dr. Wilbert Keon, it has gained international recognition for its work on heart transplants and for its research on cardiac surgery. On May 1, 1986, Dr. Keon performed Canada's first successful implantation of a mechanical heart.