Around fifty people gathered in the auditorium at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School on November 29 for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest’s (CISSSMO) annual public information session, which took place this year for the first time in Ormstown.
The 2022-2023 year marked a transition away from the pandemic toward large-scale projects within the network. Claude Jolin, the chair of the CISSSMO board of directors, noted during an opening address that “Significant improvements have been achieved thanks to the mobilization of staff, physicians, volunteers, and those in training.” While insisting the future was encouraging for the CISSSMO, he acknowledged there was a measure of uncertainty going forward, considering the government’s plan to reform the province’s healthcare system.
Philippe Gribeauval, the CISSSMO’s president and director general, then highlighted some of the successes from the past year in a presentation punctuated by brief videos featuring different area services. He spoke about the significance of humanity to a healthcare network, and the importance of highlighting the admirable work of his team, including the doctors, nurses, and staff at the organization’s 115 installations.
Access to care was improved, thanks to the arrival of a second CT scanner at the Anna-Laberge Hospital in Chateauguay which enabled 7,000 additional examinations to be carried out. There was a 10-per-cent increase in the number of surgeries for a total of 7,600 by the end of the year.
Regional housing facilities adapted to young patients with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or physical disabilities were inaugurated, and homecare teams allowed more than 500 users waiting for placement in a residence or long-term care to remain in their homes, for a total of nearly 427,000 hours of home care.
The coming year will see more large-scale projects in development to improve accessibility to local health and social services. Over $3 billion will be invested in infrastructure projects in the region, including new long-term care residences, as well as emergency department modernization projects at both the Anna-Laberge Hospital and the Suroît Hospital in Valleyfield. Finally, construction of the new hospital in Vaudreuil-Soulanges continues to progress with an opening date scheduled for 2026. (SR)