When we take pride in the successes of our healthcare network, we often tend to focus—for entirely understandable reasons—on the programs and services that have a direct and immediately noticeable impact on the patients, residents and clients who require our support.
However, we should also bear in mind that members of staff make some of their most significant contributions in areas where healthcare users will reap the benefits many months or perhaps even many years from now.
In a broad sense, I’m referring to our academic and research missions, where the training and in-depth studies that we undertake today will help set the stage for new types of treatment and technology, as well as new generations of healthcare professionals (some drawn from the roughly 5,000 students and stagiaires we receive each year). More specifically, I’m talking about certain projects and initiatives that may not always get wide recognition among staff, given the sheer size of our CIUSSS.
One noteworthy example is a newly implemented project, in which the Nursing and Multidisciplinary Directorates worked together to improve efficiency and minimize delays in discharging hospital patients. The team was headed by Judy Bianco (recently retired as Associate Nursing Director for Medicine, Geriatrics and Emergency Services) and Mary Lattas (Chief of Occupational Therapy). Special attention was paid to elderly individuals who are medically stable and are ready to take the next step in their trajectory of care in another facility or at home.
In the field of research ethics, two members of our Research Review Office have travelled to Harvard University twice since May to discuss ethical standards and practices relating to medical research that involves human participants. Felicia Tiseo (Chief of Research Review and Regulatory Affairs) and Julie Turbide (Quality Assurance Specialist) conferred with colleagues from around the world to ensure that CIUSSS West-Central Montreal remains at the forefront in safeguarding the dignity, rights and safety of the individuals in research studies.
Projects like these—even if they occasionally “fly under the radar”—demonstrate that our intent is to achieve much more than just finding a successful formula and sticking with it. We are constantly in the process of scrutinizing our own performance and looking for ways of improving what we do. The results, whether immediately obvious or not, ultimately mean better care for those who put their lives in our hands every day.
Lawrence Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D.
President and CEO
