These developments have been critical in helping to redress the past inequities in cardiac service provision in the West of Ireland and more importantly have contributed to the decline in deaths from coronary heart disease in the West of Ireland.
The key milestones include:
♥ The establishment of the first Cardiac Catheter Laboratory in the West of Ireland and the subsequent support for upgrading of equipment at the Cardiac Catheter Laboratories at University Hospital Galway (UHG).
♥ The opening of the new Coronary Care Unit at University Hospital, Galway.
♥ The designation of University Hospital, Galway as the Supra-Regional Specialist Cardiac Centre and the opening of the Cardiac Surgical Centre for the West of Ireland.
♥ The launch of the 'Croí Mobile Emergency Cardiac Care Unit' – bringing hospital coronary care directly to the patient.
♥ The establishment of specialist services such as Chest Pain and Heart Failure Clinics.
♥ The Croí Community Cardiac Care Programme – providing out-of-hospital support for heart patients and their families.
♥ The development of a Community based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programme 'Heartsmart'
♥ The launch of the Croí Community Access Defibrillation Programme ('Croí Centre for Lifesaving Training) – promoting public CPR training, early access to defibrillation and boosting the 'Chain of Survival' in collaboration with the emergency services and hospital cardiology.
♥ The launch of Croí MyAction - the first Cardiovascular disease prevention and lifestyle change management programme of its kind in Ireland.      
 

Probably the most significant milestone to date has the been the commencement of construction (August 10th, 2010) of Croí House - a first-of-a-kind education, research & care centre for heart patients, their families and the general community. The 2 storey 1,400sq metre faciltity is being constructed on a green-field site in close proximity to University Hospital Galway & NUI Galway. The new facility will bring together the administrative headquarters for Croí; Family accomodation for relatives of cardiac surgery patients; research, education & training facilities; screening and outreach facilities; and a base for Croí's community heart health team.

 The range of Croí-funded initiatives is diverse - from the funding of cardiac equipment and collaborative research - to innovative educational projects in the community. To-date, over €12 million has been invested in support of these advancements.
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