Using what we’ve learned over 100 years of serving the community
Established in 1913, The Lachine Hospital has a rich history in the West Island. While its name has changed over time – Saint Joseph’s Hospital, The Lachine Hospital Centre or Lachine Hospital – excellent care has always been the name of the game for an institution that is now becoming an integral part of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Bolstered by this integration into the MUHC, the Lachine Hospital will be reborn and play an even larger role in healthcare in the province. The coming renovations will bring greater attention to the quality and know-how of this nearly 100-year-old institution. Thanks to the support of the Government of Quebec – that is earmarking $54.8 million and the generous contributions of donors like you, the Lachine Campus will be able to pursue its mission of providing the best care for life in an ultramodern facility.
Meeting expectations. Saying goodbye to long waiting lists
The improvements that will be carried out at the Lachine Campus over the next few years will help make tremendous headway in shortening the long waiting lists for a variety of cutting-edge special surgical procedures in Quebec’s current healthcare system. Over the course of the McGill University Health Centre redevelopment project, the Lachine Campus will grow in area by 30% and will be equipped with the infrastructure and equipment needed to provide model care to the community it serves.
Centre of excellence in geriatrics
More than a decade ago, the Lachine Hospital Centre was a front-line centre responding to the needs of people over the age of 65. Today, the Lachine Campus will once again take up this torch, reserving 20 beds for geriatrics and offering this segment of the population the multidisciplinary services it needs. The Camille-Lefebvre Pavilion will continue to offer the quality long-term care for which it is already well-known. For Camille-Lefebvre residents, this means not only comfort, but reassurance. The respect, warmth and attention that the staff shows the residents creates a stimulating and pleasant atmosphere.
Centre of excellence in ophthalmology
Quebec’s aging population is leading inexorably to an increase in the need for the treatment of cataracts. Already a designated regional centre for ophthalmology, the Lachine Campus of the McGill University Health Centre will be able to treat more than 5,000 cases a year after the larger department has been modernized. In doing so, the MUHC will truly become a centre of excellence in ophthalmology. The resulting decrease in delay between diagnosis and intervention will allow people to see more clearly more quickly. The Campus’s excellence in this field of specialization will be evident in a number of ways: along with additional ophthalmologists and support teams dedicated to cataracts, other specialists will be hired to treat glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy and outpatient clinics will be added as well.
Centre of excellence in bariatric surgery
Despite public perception, morbid obesity is not merely the result of an unhealthy lifestyle. It is a complex chronic condition that affects nearly one in five people, one from which nearly 300,000 Quebecers suffer. In some cases, bariatric surgery is the only way to save a patient’s life. Nevertheless, the waiting list is long: up to seven years in Quebec. Officially designated one of only two centres of excellence in bariatric surgery in Quebec, the Lachine Campus will reserve four specially-equipped rooms intended for people suffering from either morbid or non-morbid obesity. Some spaces will even be set aside and modified to allow passageway for larger beds. Directed by Dr. Nicolas Christou, a leading Canadian expert in micromanipulation surgery, the program will be supported by a complete interdisciplinary team. Ambulatory pre- and post-operative visits to the hospital will allow the 400 or so patients treated each year to be followed with great care. By 2011, the number of treatments is expected to triple, leading to a brighter future for these patients who have often slipped through the cracks of the healthcare system.
Getting well and getting better...
A look at the ideal hospital room A big part of the McGill University Health Centre’s redevelopment project is building a facility centered on the needs of the patient. Naturally, the Lachine Campus shares that goal. Giving the patient first-class medical care is an important part of that, of course, but perhaps an even more crucial step to recovery is providing a comfortable, pleasant atmosphere, one that radiates intimacy, dignity, security and calm. Renovated and enlarged, the new Lachine Campus will have nearly twice the number of active beds, bringing it to 79 large rooms, all of them single-patient! Each room will have its own bathroom, places to store personal effects and a quiet corner where visiting loved ones can relax in comfort without disturbing patient care in any way. Brighter, bigger and more comfortable, these rooms will give patients and their families a healthier and more healing space in which to recover and also give hospital staff an environment better adapted to the real requirements of their work. Situated near a major road network, the Lachine Campus of the McGill University Health Centre provides a large range of inpatient and outpatient services to a wide clientele, including residents of Lachine, Dorval and Montreal’s West-Island. Along with the Glen and Mountain campuses, it will be part of a healthcare network that is among the most advanced in Canada, dedicated to excellent care and teaching as well as innovative medical research. With the emergency room workspace tripling in size, the 25,000 patients seen there each year on average will find a calmer environment and be given even higher quality care. Fully operational, the unit boasts an ultrasound machine that allows the emergency team to make rapid diagnoses and treat patients immediately. From Lachine to Montreal’s downtown core, the McGill University Health Centre is building a healthcare network for the future. Already, the completed work tells the tale: a brand new up-to-date telephone system, uninterrupted fibreoptic link to the downtown campuses, integrated and networked computer system, all converging as proof that Quebec’s healthcare system of tomorrow will be fully at ease in cyberspace, linking communities irrespective of geographic distances.
Goal: 3million dollars
The Lachine Hospital Foundation is launching the most significant fundraising campaign in its history, with the intention of raising $3 million. With your contribution, you’ll be helping the Lachine Campus better serve the community by giving it the resources to hire qualified personnel and acquire the specialized equipment it needs to meet the standards of a triple centre of excellence. With these improvements, the Lachine Campus will truly become one of the best hospitals in Quebec, combining topnotch researchers, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
- A better than ever geriatrics centre
- Expanded and improved ophthalmologic services
- Custom facilities for bariatric surgery
- Single-patient rooms designed to speed up convalescence
- Redesigned and more efficient emergency room
- Computer systems linked to the full network
« Our hospital will play a key role in the redevelopment of the McGill University Health Centre even as it continues to serve our community. As a designated triple centre of excellence, our citizens will benefit from expanded healthcare services in their neighbourhood. That being said, we’ll need everyone’s help and support to see these projects through. Your contribution will make a real difference. » Claude Dauphin Honourary President of Lachine division of The Best Care for Life Campaign. To donate or to get involved in the campaign please contact us Lachine Hospital Foundation 650, 16e Avenue, Lachine (Quebec) H8S 3N5 Tel. 514 637-2351, 77333 [email protected]