The annual July 1 moving day is behind us but one of the biggest moves in the city is just about to get underway.
The McGill University Health Centre is preparing to relocate staff and equipment to the new superhospital in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.
As of 7 a.m. on April 26, 2015, the new MUHC superhospital at the Glen site will house five health institutions — the Montreal Children’s Hospital, the Research Institute of the MUHC, the Royal Victoria Hopital, the Montreal Chest Institute and part of the Montreal General Hospital.
With the emergency rooms shutting down permanently, about 275 patients will move that day. A caravan of ambulances will take them to the new site using a designated route, which could mean road closures for motorists along the way.
All patients will be accompanied by at least one nurse.
“If some patients are not up to the point where we would like, the physicians will be with them too,” said Michèle Verreault-Lortie, who is the director of the transition project.
Officials said boxes will be packed at the very last minute, but staff members are to start sorting through their things now and toss anything they won’t need at the new site.
“It could be paper, furniture, films in medical imaging for example,” said Sandra Hamelin of the MUHC’s medical imagery department.
Big pieces of medical equipment and files will move to the Glen Site at the beginning of April.
Maternity ward open on moving day
The maternity ward at the Royal Victoria Hospital will still remain open on April 26, even after the move is completed.
Officials said this will ensure they are prepared for expecting mothers who go into labour at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
“If a woman goes into labour and you can predict it’s going to go very slowly, she may be transferred ... But if you have a mom who’s had babies before and [her labour] going very quickly, then you don’t want to take a chance with her, so she`s going to give birth here,” said Luisa Ciofani of the MUHC’s Women’s Health Mission.
Officials at the Royal Victoria Hopspital will also not schedule any elective surgeries in the final week before the move.
“There will be [fewer] patients and we will be able to move with a number of patients we can handle,” said Verreault-Lortie.
The move is expected to cost about $10 million.