May is National Physiotherapy Month!

Thanks goes out to all of our PT's for their unwavering dedication to promoting good health, preventing injury, and improving the physical function and well-being of our patients through the treatment of a wide range of conditions.  

Howell Lin

Howell Lin
Howell Lin, a physiotherapist at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) since 1991, says his job has always been about helping patients. “The fact that I get to make a difference in someone’s life while they are in the hospital is very satisfying,” says Lin. “It’s always rewarding to work with our patients and watch them go through the rehabilitation process.” 

When he was younger, Lin devoted some of his spare time to volunteering with seniors in his Chinese-speaking community, which he says helped guide his career path. “While studying in physiotherapy, a lot of students wanted to work in sports. I had a very different goal: I wanted to work with the elderly,” he says.
For Lin, working in a hospital setting means working in team. “I specialize in neurology, neurosurgery and traumatic brain injuries,” says Lin. “I’m also involved in research initiatives with multidisciplinary teams, and together we look at how severe head injury cases progress over time, or how we can better orient confused patients on the hospital floors.”

It doesn’t matter how big or small a case might be. “Helping someone move again, even making just a small step, is what makes my work so fulfilling.”

Marie France Lanoie

Marie- France Lanoie, physiotherapist
Marie-France Lanoie, a physiotherapist at the Montreal Neurological (MNH) and Royal Victoria hospitals since 1999, works primarily with patients with neurological disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With the help of her colleagues and community partners she strives every day to maximize the autonomy of the patients she cares for.

"We are a multidisciplinary team and our approach to patients and family is particularly close to my heart," she says. "I believe in the approach that treats the person as a whole. It's important for me not to judge, not to impose anything and to seek with the patient and caregivers, solutions adapted to their reality. Some patients experience irreversible loss of mobility, and our role is to help and guide them in their journey. A simple thank you, a smile or a suggestive look is very rewarding."

Just as Lanoie supports patients in their journey, she is thankful that the MUHC supports her. Over the years, Lanoie has had the opportunity to receive international-level training to obtain certifications, and to participate in several research projects. She has also lectured in various regions of Quebec and has presented internationally. Lanoie really appreciates that the MUHC supports professional development and service improvement projects.

Nancy Alarie

Nancy Alarie, MCH

Ask Nancy Alarie, a physiotherapist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital for 22 years, about the moments she cherishes most when interacting with patients and she won’t hesitate to answer.

“When we can have a laugh together,” she says. “It can be because of something good or something pretty mundane.

I also really love seeing the twinkle in a child’s eyes when they have accomplished something that they have worked really hard at. It’s a look that says ‘I achieved this!’ and it’s great.”

When she isn’t home enjoying a good book or swimming in the summertime with her nine-year-old daughter, Alaire spends three days a week helping patients with Cystic Fibrosis, as well as patients hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and those who have recently undergone cardiac surgery.

“Some of the interventions I perform are the same, regardless of the patient’s condition, and some treatments can be very different given the child’s diagnosis,” she explains.

Alaire then splits the other two days in her week between working with Cystic Fibrosis patients in a clinic or home/school setting and to contributing to Cystic Fibrosis research.

“From the time I did my pediatric internship at the Children’s,” says Alaire, “I knew I wanted to work here.”

Angela Yung

RVH Physiotherapist Angela Yung

As one of the twenty physiotherapists who work at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), Angela Yung  loves being part of the team and sharing information with her colleagues.  “I am able to do what I love because the team I work with gives me the opportunity,” says Yung. “I have the support of my whole department.” 

This dynamic young social worker spends her mornings helping out-patients who have lymphedema learn how to exercise and use compression bandages to reduce swelling.   

Her afternoons are spent helping post-surgical in-patients get back on their feet.  Her supervisor, Patricia Barassi, Physiotherapist and in-patient coordinator at the RVH/MNH, describes Yung as “a consummate professional who has a thirst for knowledge and is goal-oriented while keeping her compassion and humility. All the patients who have had the pleasure to know Angela  understand just how special and dedicated she is.” 

Yung was first drawn to a career in physiotherapy after a childhood injury allowed her to see first-hand just how valuable and enriching the work of a physiotherapist could be.  “I enjoy the diversity of the field,” she says.” There is always something new to learn!”