Verdun residents living next to the Douglas Research Institute met the new management team from the Montréal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS ODIM in French) last month (Thursday April 14).
During the meeting, new directors spoke about improvements in care under the new structure.
Complex cases can now be handled in 48 hours instead of six months,” said Naja Hachimi-Idrissi, who’s in charge of the Mental Health and Addiction Programs Directorate. “Problems can be resolved faster now than in the past. One person within a couple was initially placed in Verdun and another elsewhere. We worked fast to place them together.”
Patients no longer have to run from centre to centre,” said Marie-Claire Richer, Assistant Executive Director for continuous improvement, access and infrastructure. “Now it’s the centres that run after the patient.”
Hachimi-Idrissi and Richer were new faces, but the meeting was mainly run by Lynne McVey, who was the former general manager of Douglas. McVey now serves as the assistant president and CEO of clinical programs and academic mission. Communications officer Anne Quirion, who handled resident communications for the Douglas Institute, continues to play that role under the new structure. Quirion is now based in Pointe Claire instead of on the Douglas grounds.
McVey presented the West Island Territory of the new health entity. Of the eight major institutions within the network, four lie outside of the official territory. They include: the Douglas Institute, Batshaw, St. Mary’s Hospital and Grace Dart Extended Care Centre. The new entity employs 10,500 employees and includes nine clinical and five administrative departments. It hosts 111,000 emergency visits every year. Fifteen different private foundations raise money for organizations within the new structure. The Douglas Foundation continues to operate from its traditional office.
The construction of a large hospital on Champlain Street near Stephens is among four major infrastructure upgrades prioritized by her organization, said McVey. The other three are the Batshaw, St. Mary’s and Lakeshore Emergency improvements.
The West Island CIUSSS got a letter in mid-March from the Provincial Government saying that none of its infrastructure projects were prioritized this year. Douglas managers also must divide their expansion plan into three different phases to submit it next year.
Other changes are mostly related to governance and activity integration.
The CIUSSS ODIM now has a board of directors,” said McVey. “It includes most of the general managers from former institutions.”
Claudette Allard, who chaired the Douglas Institute board of directors for years, is the independent board member with mental health expertise. Micheline Béland represents the Users Committee.
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