Compassionate Bedside Care 24/7
Sometimes when you think of a “community hospital” you think of a small, rural place that may not have all the advantages in equipment and medical professionals as the larger hospitals. But for a 316-bed hospital, which is about half the size of the more well-known Montreal neighbouring hospitals, St. Mary’s truly gives them a run for their money.
One element of St. Mary’s that seems to surface at every turn is the "humanness" of the institution. Time and again, we have earned the praise and the acclaim of patients, media, and government bodies not only for our medical professionalism, but for something else that very few institutions can claim – our commitment to preserving the human element in the practice of medicine - providing healthcare on a human scale.
Community in the True Sense
And there is one reason why we can continue to boast compassionate, patient-centered healthcare services. That is because we are a community hospital in the true sense of the term. Our community supports, preserves and protects us, and in turn, we care for our patients on a level they cannot find elsewhere.
St. Mary’s caters to a multicultural patient base because we are located in the heart of one of Quebec’s most diverse and multiethnic neighbourhoods. The multicultural community that we serve is central to our personality and our approach to patient care. We respect, adjust and respond to the needs and customs of our patients in order to provide an atmosphere that is open and welcoming. We are also characterized by a multicultural staff which enables us to understand the cultural differences of our patients and offer more adapted, personalized services, including communicating in 36 languages.
What makes us a Small Wonder?
St. Mary’s is not in the habit of bragging about its many accomplishments. St. Mary’s is humble. And proud of it.
Here are just some of the areas that help us stand apart, and make St. Mary’s a wellness powerhouse.
- We received CHAU status (Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire), solidifying our position as a McGill University affiliated hospital for teaching and clinical research. This designation will allow us to establish two Chairs in the following areas: Family and Community Medicine, Community Cancer Care.
- We are an integral part of the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé (RUIS) McGill.
- Our Laboratory Department is the only one in the province certified by the College of American Pathologists since 1995.
- We are one of the largest birthing centres in Montreal, with over 4,600 births last year. Our Birthing Centre was rated as Exceptional in a comparative study conducted in the Greater Montreal area.
- We have one of the most efficiently-run Emergency rooms, treating over 36,000 patients/year
- We invented modern cataract surgery and are a designated cataract surgery site, performing over 5,200 surgeries a year.
- We perform over 13,000 surgeries per year, and this is growing yearly.
- We are consistently rated above average for patient satisfaction within general, acute-care Montreal hospitals.
- Our Family Medicine training program is among the most important, the most popular and most respected in Canada. Our GMF status (Groupe de médicine familiale) allows us to offer extended hours in an out-patient clinic setting.
We play a vital role not only in the healthcare of Montreal, but in the hearts and souls of our community, as well. In this world of super hospitals and mega institutions, the role of a small, community hospital becomes all the more relevant. A place that makes contact with our patients on a real level, that doesn’t seek to just cure them and move them along the assembly line of life, but rather seeks to build a relationship from birth, through life, and into our final years.
Small is mighty and certainly does not speak to our quality of services. This hospital is living proof of how a community and a hospital must exist to support each other… and quite literally, what makes us a Small Wonder! Read our story.
You can learn more about St. Mary’s by viewing our Annual Report.
