THUNDER BAY — Dr. Alexandra Bastiany is proud to be a recipient of a King Charles III Coronation Medal.
It is awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to Canada, including through community service. Bastiany has done work with the Indigenous community as well as work at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Her presence on social media continues to raise awareness for heart disease, especially regarding women’s heart health.
Bastiany is an interventional cardiologist at the health sciences centre. She is the first black female interventional cardiologist in Canada.
“I'm proud. It's important to recognize people who look like me, women, black women. I'm definitely proud for my community. I'm proud for myself, for my family, for all the people who look like me as well,” she said.
It’s important to Bastiany to be a role model, especially to young black women.
“There's not a lot of us. I'm an interventional cardiologist and I am the only black female interventional cardiologist in Canada," she said. "I am super happy about that, I'm very excited. However, I'm going to be even more excited when there's going to be more like me.
“I've been mentoring and pushing and supporting young girls who want to get in medicine, who want to be in cardiology or even further who want to be in an interventional specialty or a surgical specialty, because there's not a lot of women and there's definitely not a lot of black women,” Bastiany said.
Her message to young black women is that it is possible.
“I was told that it was not possible, and I feel like that's what they're being told. They're being told that it's not for them. I was told that, and I still persisted. I just want them to know that whatever you decide, whatever you want to do, it's possible. Don't let people tell you that your dreams are crazy or not achievable.”
On Friday, Bastiany took a break from her job as a doctor and was a barista in support of heart month.
“I'll be helping Alan (Forbes), my good friend, who owns Bay Village Coffee, to sell his heart cookies. It’s an amazing campaign that has been taking place for a few years now, and a part of the proceeds are going to go to the heart centre at the Thunder Bay regional hospital," she said.
“It's very important for me because as a cardiologist, as a physician, I want to raise awareness for heart health. We are doing amazing work at the (hospital), so I definitely wanted to support Alan and his endeavour at selling cookies."
Bastiany was trained as a barista last year during this time, and decided to come back this year.
“Actually, it was always a dream to be a barista. Alan made that possible. Last year, I helped sell cookies and we helped bring a little bit of visibility to the campaign, which was already great. This year is the part two of my contribution to the Bay Village campaign.
This years cookie campaign continues until the end of February. Bay Village Coffee surpassed its goal of selling 5,000 cookies half way through the month.
It’s beautiful to see people interested and supportive in the community, Bastiany said.
“Thunder Bay is not a big town, however, it's beautiful to see how people come together and support local businesses. I'm very proud to be part of this community and to be working here, that's for sure,” she said.
“Diversity is extremely important in medicine. We know that for a medical student, for a medical professional in the hospital, whenever patients are coming to the hospital, providing them with a culturally safe environment is extremely important for their health but also for their well-being," she said.
“It also allows them to get a better experience. We know that patients are more compliant to their medication, more compliant to their treatment and tend to come to the hospital when they feel safe in the environment. This is why I'm pushing for more diversity, more equity, more inclusion in medicine,” Bastiany said.
