The physician, who joined Rouge Valley Health System's Regional Cardiac Care program in November, has volunteered his time speaking with students at some Toronto-area schools, including Central Technical Institute and Nelson Mandela Elementary School. He has also worked as a Physician Mentor at the University of Toronto, and has connected with students.

Growing up, the idea of becoming a physician was not far-fetched for me. I had a lot of good examples around me, and great encouragement. I want other students who might be interested in becoming physicians, and even those that wouldn't normally consider becoming one, to know that these opportunities are available to them, said Dr. Galiwango.

As a child growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Dr. Galiwango had always admired the connection that his father, a paediatrician who emigrated from Uganda, had with his own patients. His mother, a nurse, is from Kenya. This early exposure to health care made an impression on him.

Cardiology is particularly appealing, as heart disease is a major source of morbidity and mortality in Canada. So working in this field you're able to positively impact a large number of people from a diverse cross-section of the population. It's quite gratifying to be able to improve patients' well-being and longevity, he explains.

Rouge Valley's Regional Cardiac Care program is one of the very best within the eastern Greater Toronto Area. We welcome Dr. Galiwango to our strong medical team of cardiologists here, and we look forward to the contribution he'll make to the patients and staff here at Rouge Valley, says Sonia Peczeniuk, vice president of medical affairs and clinical support at RVHS.

Rouge Valley's Cardiac Care Program is known for its leadership and high-level of service. It is the regional resource for catheterization, percutaneous coronary intervention (including angioplasty) and arrhythmia in east Toronto and west Durham Region.

Dr. Galiwango, who says he was first attracted to RVHS because of its strong history of leadership in cardiology and ethnically diverse patient population, will see patients suffering from cardiovascular illness at both hospital campuses. He hopes to make many contributions to Rouge Valley's Cardiac Program.

I look forwarding to helping to make Rouge Valley a leader in cardiovascular imaging, and to contribute to the Cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) program, which is a valuable resource to the communities of east Toronto and west Durham region. This should be a nice complement to the strong interventional cardiology and electrophysiology programs that are already in place at RVHS, says Dr. Galiwango.

Dr. Galiwango's education includes a bachelor of science; doctor of medicine medical degree; and Adult Cardiology Residency, all at the University of Toronto. He recently completed a clinical fellowship in Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT at the Ottawa Heart Institute.