HOP Lachine! A new hospital that will transform care

Meet the HOP Lachine! Team : Vicky Morin

Vicky studied at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John before being drawn to urban city living. She then worked as an intensive care nurse at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal for 15 years, then as an Infection Prevention and Control advisor at Lakeshore General Hospital for three years before becoming a manager at CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and finally joining the ranks of the Lachine Hospital.

Her interest in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) led her to work at the CIUSSS de l'Ouest just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Her specialized studies in IPC at Université de Sherbrooke prepared her well for this challenge. For the past two years at Lachine, she has been a manager in divisions of medicine, surgery, and palliative care. Thanks to her training, she pays close attention to infection prevention.

The Lachine Hospital modernization project promises to transform many aspects of care. "In the new hospital, all rooms will be private, which is a major advantage. This will significantly reduce the risk of nosocomial infections," she explains. "Comfort will be greatly improved, as will bed management. Palliative care will benefit from additional beds, and services such as massage therapy and pet therapy will be enhanced.”

For staff and patients, she says that the difference will be incomparable.

“A new gym for physiotherapy as well as assessment areas for occupational therapy will be created, greatly facilitating everyone’s work. In addition, telemetry, which enables cardiac patients to be monitored remotely from our workstations, will simplify the activities of the cardiac unit. These new spaces will offer a most appealing environment for nurse recruits, too.”

Even if there's still work to be done, Vicky is ready to meet the challenge.

" We'll have to manage the change. An adaptation phase will be necessary, but we are very well supported by managers, and our multidisciplinary teams are exceptional. We're really privileged in this respect! We're all excited to move," she concludes.