Dr. Donald Beanlands, co-founder and 'soul' of the Heart Institute, dies at 91

Early in his career, the mortality rate from heart attack was 48%. By the time he retired in 2008, it was 3-4% at the Heart Institute.

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Published Sep 04, 2024  •  Last updated 6 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

OTTAWA, ONT. - 4/28/08 - Dr. Donald Beanlands was the co-founder of the Ottawa Heart Institute. He died last month at age 91. Photo by Wayne Cuddington /THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute was still under construction when cardiologist Dr. Donald Beanlands moved his family from Toronto to Ottawa in 1975.

At the time, Ottawa had a long way to go in terms of cardiac treatment. Some patients were being sent from Ottawa to Kingston for care. That would change with the opening of the Heart Institute. Over the next three decades, Beanlands would play a leading role in the development of the institute he co-founded with cardiac surgeon Dr. Wilbert Keon.

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Described as the soul of the Heart Institute, Beanlands died last month at the age of 91.

He had been one of Keon’s first recruits for the new Heart Institute, which opened its doors beside the Civic hospital in 1977. As its first chief of cardiology, Beanlands had lofty goals.

“I wanted to make the Heart Institute one of the top institutions in the country,” he said in a previous interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “I think we have succeeded.” He served as deputy director general of the Heart Institute until his retirement in 2008.

A native of Halifax, Beanlands attended medical school at Dalhousie University before training to be a cardiologist at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. He was serving as chief of cardiology at Toronto Western Hospital when Keon approached him.

Beanland’s career came during a period of dramatic advances in medical technology and the survival of cardiac patients. Early in his career, the mortality rate from heart attack was 48 per cent. By the time Beanlands retired in 2008, it was between three and four per cent at the Heart Institute, plus patients were out of the hospital in a matter of days.

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“It is a thrill to see former heart attack patients walking into rehabilitation groups,” he said in an interview.

Surgeon, Dr. Donald Beanlands, photographed in the lobby of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Photo by Julie Oliver /Ottawa Citizen

In an interview, Beanlands recalled using a brand new piece of equipment – a defibrillator – for the first time on a young woman who was dying in a Toronto emergency ward.

“Before I gave her the first shock, I had to get the brand new equipment out of the box because it had just arrived.”

He was internationally recognized for his work as a cardiologist, as well as for his leadership and training initiatives. Beanlands established national and international education programs at the Heart Institute. Today many consider it Canada’s leading training program for young cardiologists.

“Don built cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute from a small community practice-oriented group to the best teaching division in the country. He did this by example,” said Dr. Lyall Higginson, president of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and a former chief of cardiology at the Heart Institute on Beanlands’ retirement.

In 2006, Beanlands was named a “living legend” by the World Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons and given a lifetime achievement award by the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences. He was also one of the first to receive the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s distinguished Teacher/Mentor award.

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An ambulatory care centre at the Heart Institute is named for him.

He is remembered for his devotion to his patients and respect for members of his health team.

Those are among the things that his son, Dr. Rob Beanlands, brought to his own career at the Heart Institute. Rob Beanlands was named president and CEO of the Heart Institute earlier this year, taking over from retiring president and CEO Dr. Thierry Mesana.

At the time, he talked about lessons he had learned from his father.

Among them was how intensely his father was affected by the outcomes of his patients, both good and bad. “It hit him pretty hard.” He also said his father taught him about the importance of health care staff, especially nurses, as well as trainees.

Erika MacPhee, the vice president of clinical operations at the Heart Institute who has worked there for 32 years, said she was fortunate to work as a nurse with Beanlands.

“He was super kind and generous with his time and expertise. He always included not only trainees but nurses in his rounding and teaching and made us really feel part of the time.” He took time to mentor nurses as well as trainees, who he would sometimes invite to is home for dinner.

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MacPhee said Beanlands never rushed with patients and “made them feel they were the only one he was caring for – the most important person in the hospital to him. I truly believe he actually loved and cared for each of the patients he looked after.”

In an obituary, Beanlands’ family wrote: “Through his leadership and commitment to his patients and their families, his trainees who now practice across Canada and around the world, and the staff who respected him, it has been said that he changed the practice of medicine and cardiology in Ottawa and Canada forever.”

A celebration of life event to honour Beanlands is expected to be held in the coming weeks.

“Dr. Beanlands is beloved and respected by patients, staff, colleagues and trainees alike. His legacy will forever be carried in the hearts of those for whom he cared, with whom he worked and those he mentored and guided,” wrote the Heart Institute in a statement about his death.

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