Lachute hospital breaks ground on intensive rehab unit

Recovering from a stroke, orthopedic injury or serious degenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis is a long and complicated process that involves extensive therapy and hard work.

Complicating matters for Laurentian residents is the distance it takes to reach specialized services that are normally located in large cities like Montreal or Ottawa. Soon, however, they will soon be available in Lachute.

On Tuesday, July 12, the Centre de santé et des services sociaux (CSSS) Argenteuil hospital in Lachute, broke ground on a new wing that will be used to house an intensive, functional rehabilitation unit.

It represents a $4.2-million investment from the Quebec provincial government to construct the building and an annual operating budget of $2.2 million.

"The arrival of this new service requires the hiring of 26 healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, nurses and orderlies," explained MNA d'Argenteuil David Whissell, noting the CSSS Argenteuil hospital is the largest employer in the region.

Located adjacent to the Unité de la Fountaine, the two-storey rehabilitation unit includes 19 beds, six double rooms and seven single rooms, a kitchen, conference room, physiotherapy room and gymnasium. Construction of the new unit will displace a parking lot that will be relocated to a grassy area in the rear of the hospital. The new unit is expected to be open by next summer and it will treat about 150 patients each year.

"This is great news for the people of Argenteuil, but it is also important for residents in the entire southern Laurentians and the inhabitants in the region of Thérèse-de-Blainville, Lac-de-deux-Montagnes and Saint-Jerome who will all share access to these services," said Marc Fortin, president of the Laurentian Health and Social Services Agency.

Representatives from the CSSS Argenteuil hospital have been lobbying for this new unit since 2003 and they were selected with the consensus of all of the Laurentian hospitals.

In the past year, the CSSS Argenteuil hospital has seen a number of new changes, including the opening of a new hematology-oncology unit which provides treatment to cancer patients, a palliative care unit, a renovation of the emergency room, and the replacement of equipment in the operating room. Earlier this year, the province also increased the allocation for the number of nurses and doctors that will be available at the hospital and listed it as one of the training hospitals that will be accepting French doctors from France.

"We have a few new nurses who started working here at the beginning of the year and we are actively recruiting new doctors and nurses," said CSSS Argenteuil president Paul Hénault, adding it is difficult to recruit doctors to live and stay in the region.

He said one doctor from France is supposed to be starting work at the hospital this fall and another, Doctor Christophe Hubert, recently completed his three-month probation at the hospital and accepted the position of chief of general medicine.

Doctor Michel Marleau is another recent addition to the CSSS Argenteuil hospital. He is a general practitioner who was recruited from a hospital in the Outaouais region to work within the new rehabilitation unit.