PLATTSBURGH — Howard J. “Jay” Drollette Jr. was a runner, an athlete and correctional officer at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora; he was in exceptional physical shape.
When he died unexpectedly from a heart attack on Jan. 28, 2021, at just 51 years old, his family was floored.
“We want to get awareness out that you don’t have to be the stereotypical ‘out of shape’ to die of a heart attack,” Jay’s brother James “Jamie” Drollette said.
“He was 170 pounds. He had washboard abs.”
The unexpectedness of Jay Drollette’s death, which they later found out was caused by three different artery blockages in his heart, was tough, but his family quickly knew they wanted to organize something and give back in his honor.
They decided on a golf tournament, now held annually at the Barracks Golf Course in Plattsburgh on the third Sunday in July.
All proceeds raised from the tournament are donated to CVPH to benefit cardiology patients. In the last few years that money has specifically gone toward supporting the new and improved soon-to-be-open cardiac and pulmonary rehab center, which is expected to open its doors in October thanks to the family’s support.
The golf tournament annually raises, on average, about $10,000. This year, $12,500 was raised.
In total, nearly $60,000 was donated to CVPH over the last five years.
Jamie Drollette presented the latest check to CVPH Friday afternoon. His wife, Angel, and his sisters, Kelly Laundry and Amy LaVigne, and niece Allison Garfield were also present.
“We don’t want any accolades for this,” Drollette said.
“We just want to get the information out there that if you feel something doesn’t feel right, then go see somebody.”
Laundry said she noticed her brother acting differently around Thanksgiving in 2020. She said he showed up to dinner unusually tired and eventually left without eating anything.
From then on, she said he was always tired, complained of headaches and weakness, but he never got checked out by a doctor.
“It was just because he worked so many hours at the jail. He always donated his time. He was always working overtime,” Laundry said.
“He was the last person out of the jail. He gave every one of his holidays to the people with the families with the young kids, and yeah, we didn’t even think twice. Our mom was a nurse, so we should have seen it.”
“He didn’t get checked out,” Drollette added. “He should have. and I feel that if he had, he’d still be here.”
Drollette said he and his siblings all went and got exams after Jay’s death, because heart disease does run in their family. They recommend anyone else to do the same, especially if there is a family history of it.
“We’re just trying to make something good (come of this),” Laundry said.
The new cardiac and pulmonary rehab center at CVPH will be located at 214 Cornelia St., Suite 104, in Plattsburgh and a grand opening for it is expected some time in October.
Crystal Bissette-Leclair, nurse manager of non-invasive cardiology at CVPH, said the new center will allow for triple the amount of patients to get the care they need.
“What happens when somebody has a qualifying Cardiac event. They have a procedure and after the procedure, it does take them a while to recover, and rehab has shown to have significant clinical impacts on health,” Bissette-Leclair said.
“If you complete a program, you’re 35% less likely to have a reoccurrence. So this money donated by these lovely people and multiple community members are going to allow us to triple the volume of patients we are going to be able to see,” she continued.
“And, also open up a pulmonary rehab program. So not only now are we going to be able to see cardiac patients and improve their care and longevity for their health, we are also going to be able to see respiratory patients and improve their longevity.”
The current rehab center at CVPH is much smaller and has created wait times for cardiac patients who need rehab.
“The sooner you can get them in, the better,” Kerry Haley from the CVPH Foundation said.
“But it’s not always readily available because of the space limitations.”
The new facility will all but eliminate the wait time in the future.
For the family, giving this money to CVPH annually is exactly the kind of thing their brother Jay Drollette would have liked to see, they said. LaVigne said he was known for giving away furniture, money and his time to whoever else needed it.
“He would give up his last dime. He’d give his shirt,” LaVigne said.
“You don’t know how many times, because he’s a correction officer, how many times he gave up his holiday so that a fellow coworker who had young children could be home.”
Now, when the new pulmonary and cardiac center opens this fall, Jay Drollette’s name will be on the wall outside of it.
“When you lose a loved one, your biggest fear is that people are gonna forget them,” Laundry said.
“With this, he will never be forgotten, ever.”