Congratulations to Giovanna Cocco, who was appointed Director of the Mental Health and Addiction Programs, effective September 5.
In making the announcement, Lucie Tremblay, the CIUSSS’s Associate CEO, described Ms. Cocco as a leader whose qualities are highlighted by “her dynamism and in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by the healthcare system.”
Ms. Tremblay also referred to her as “a woman of action, who has demonstrated her outstanding strategic vision for the field of mental health.”
In her new capacity, Ms. Cocco will be responsible for the mental health, addictions and homelessness teams, both at the Jewish General Hospital and in the community. She will also work in close collaboration with the teams of psychiatrists network-wide, and provide support to all of the CIUSSS’s directorates.
With nearly 25 years of experience as a clinical nurse, primarily within mental health, Ms. Cocco served most recently as the Associate Director of Mental Health and Homelessness at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud de l’Île de Montréal. She has also acquired extensive experience in such positions as Director of Rehabilitation Programs and Director of Nursing at the Hôpital de réadaptation Villa Medica; a Coordinator in geriatrics at CIUSSS de l’Ouest de l’Île de Montréal; and leadership roles at CISSS de la Montérégie Centre, CSSS Champlain Charles-Lemoyne and Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies.
She counts among her accomplishments putting into place a mental health hospital-at-home program, and implementing a regional mental health unit (unité de vie régionale en santé mentale), which is a living environment for adult patients with heavy needs.
Ms. Cocco obtained her MBA at Université Sherbrooke in 2013 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Université de Montréal in 2003.
