Cardiologist continues to have far-reaching impact

 “Dr. Warnica taught me so much, not just about medicine, but about patient care and how to be empathetic. He raised the standard of care and was a pioneer, leaving a lasting legacy.”

Spoken by Dr. Jason Jacobus, MD, an internist working in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana, these words define the impact of Dr. Wayne Warnica, MD, during a career spanning five decades and counting.

Although now retired from clinical practice, Warnica, a cardiologist and emeritus professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences in the Cumming School of Medicine, Warnica continues to impact cardiovascular health care through a passion project he co-developed in 2012, the Guyana Program to Advance Cardiac Care (GPACC).

Over the past decade, Warnica has made numerous trips to Georgetown, Guyana, helping train numerous physicians and technicians and setting up a critical care unit and other infrastructure in the country, which has some of the highest rates of heart disease in the world.

His commitment to the project has been unwavering. To this day, he receives numerous calls, texts and emails from mentees seeking advice on patient management. He also reviewed and reported echocardiograms from Guyana daily for many years and continues to assist in this capacity.

Warnica has also had a lasting impact Calgary by not only transforming cardiac intensive care in the city, but also by passing on his knowledge to dozens of young physicians as a mentor and teacher.

Early Career

Warnica was born and raised in rural Manitoba and graduated with a medical degree from the University of Manitoba in 1966. He briefly practiced family medicine in a small town before continuing his training in internal medicine and cardiology at McGill University.

After a fellowship in cardiology and research, he took a position as a clinician and educator at McGill University. During his tenure, he updated the Coronary Monitoring Unit in Montreal General Hospital into a more active interventional unit to offer better care to patients admitted with cardiac problems.

In 1981, Warnica was recruited to the University of Alberta to develop a more modern approach to acute cardiac care, elevating emergency care for heart patients. During his time in Edmonton, Warnica also co-developed the cardiac transplant program.

Calgary career

In 1985, he was recruited to Calgary where he facilitated the transition from a traditional critical care unit to today’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at the Foothills Medical Centre (FMC), the first of its kind in Canada.  

Dr. Israel Belenkie, MD, was the first full time cardiologist in Calgary, arriving in 1973. He explains in the 1970s, the coronary unit at the FMC was combined with a renal unit and general intensive care unit.

According to Belenkie, as the patient population grew and medical advances kept more patients with heart disease alive, there was a need for a new model and someone to run it.

Warnica’s focus on intensive care made him the perfect candidate, and he directed the CICU from 1985 until 2009.

“He was an excellent cardiologist and an excellent teacher,” says Belenkie of Warnica. “The CICU ran smoothly for many years under his direction.”

Dr. Greg Schnell, MD, who has directed the CICU since 2009, remembers being a cardiology fellow in the unit under Warnica’s tenure. 

Schnell recalls Warnica was a competent and wise clinician and mentor.

“I always felt that Wayne knew what to do,” he says. “He would just stand back and observe the patients and had the ability to diagnose the problem and do what should be done. I had a sense of comfort when Wayne was there.”

Schnell says Warnica was at the cutting edge of patient care.

“He was on the forefront of the evolution of moving from simply caring for patients after a heart attack to emergency care of critically ill heart patients,” says Schnell. “What I admire about Wayne is that in addition to all his other duties, he was a clinician first. He always made caring for patients his priority.”

The CICU wasn’t Warnica’s only contribution. 

In 1994, he co-developed an advanced heart failure team in Calgary. He also served as the cardiology program director for CSM for several years, coordinating the cardiovascular teaching block.

Warnica worked locally, provincially and nationally on emergency cardiac care provision, serving as chair of the Emergence Cardiac Care Committee of the Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Heart Foundation.

Mentorship

Warnica’s commitment to passing on knowledge continues to inspire. Over his career, he has spent countless hours providing mentorship and training to young physicians and other members of the health care team. His reason is simple.

“It’s a sense of duty,” he says. “We must hand our knowledge down to the next generation. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have mentors who did the same thing for me.”

Warnica’s mentorship style is casual and relationship based. Because of this, he has received numerous expressions of gratitude from former students.

“It’s something very special,” says Warnica.

Jacobus is a recipient of Warnica’s mentorship. He met Warnica as part of the Guyanese Echocardiogram Training Program and was later recruited to the project’s cardiology service, which now treats about 100 patients each month.

“I admire his can-do attitude,” says Jacobus. “I admired how he surmounted all the obstacles here and maintained a positive attitude, despite the hurdles. Dr. Warnica was a pioneer here, raising the standard of care to international levels of excellence, making a huge impact not only our patients, but also on the health-care staff.

“He planted a seed, and now many of his mentees are trying to teach others what they learned from Dr. Warnica. Rest assured; his impact won’t be forgotten.”

Cardiologist Dr. Terrence Haynes, MD, is also keenly aware of Warnica’s mentorship skills. Born and raised in Guyana, the then internal-medicine resident met Warnica at the start of the GPACC program.

Haynes says Warnica’s impact on his life, the lives of his colleagues and the patients in Guyana has been huge.

“He brought a standard of care to the cardiac unit that we had never experienced before,” he says. “Prior to GPACC, there was no one focusing on treating patients according to evidence-based medicine and protocols. There was no echo program.”

Today, we have a proper cardiac intensive care unit with specially trained nurses, internists and cardiologists. My hope is to continue Dr. Warnica’s legacy and to continue to improve on what Dr. Warnica and Dr. Isaac started.” 

Dr. Wayne Warnica is an emeritus professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. 

Dr. Greg Schnell is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences and Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. 

Dr. Israel Belenkie is an emeritus professor in the Department of Cardiac Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.