Press Releases
More Than Just Listening, Genuine Understanding
When challenged with mental illness or addiction it’s difficult to see what will come next, to believe that one day our life will get better. Read more
Movember: Don’t Stay Silent on Mental Health
Movember shines a spotlight on men’s health this November, including often overlooked mental anguish and its consequences. Read more
After the Overdose
The Recovery Transition Program proves instrumental in helping those overcoming addictions transition from clinic to community. Read more
Radio interview by Andrew Carter on CJAD with one of our mentors, Cecelia
Bernard St-Laurent is back at the mic
CBC Montreal’s Daybreak has a new political analyst: veteran broadcaster and pundit Bernard St-Laurent. Read more
From the darkness to being okay
One MUHC patient tells us about her journey with Mental Illness. Read more
Winners of this Year’s Q+ Challenge
Back row, left to right: Antonis Paraherakis, Robert Glesinger, Michael Menezes, Kathryn Gill, and Josef Schmidt.
Bottom row, left to right: Patricia Lucas, Ronna Schwartz, Cecelia Vanier, and Melissa Myers.
It can be said that magic happens when clinical teams and patients come together to create and implement quality improvement projects. The Q+ Challenge, now in its fourth year, is living proof of that. Each year, the superb entries make the Selection Committee’s job of choosing a winner in and of itself a challenge. I would like to begin by thanking everyone who submitted a project for evaluation. This is how new programs come to be, including the unique 2015 winning entry from a team in the Mental Health Mission. Dr. Kathryn J. Gill and Ronna Schwartz led this team and, as in the past, were supported by patients’ input and participation. Entitled the Recovery Transition Program (RTP), their initiative aims to enhance the patient experience, promote long-term recovery by reducing relapses and re-admissions, and improve quality of life. RTP will also train a cohort with lived experience of mental illness to become ‘certified peer mentors’, able to deliver recovery-oriented support, workshops and self-management tools. RTP is a wonderful reflection of our commitment to encourage patient participation in everything we do. Dr. Nadia Szkrumelak, MUHC Psychiatrist-in-Chief’s recent note to the winners speaks volumes to the program’s quality: “It is, as the reviewers noted, a noteworthy proposal because of the unique way it addresses the needs of the patients throughout the entire process, from design to implementation. I have every confidence that this project will achieve the desired results of easing patients’ transitions to community care when they are ready to be discharged from the MUHC, creating a culture in which patients feel included and empowered in their care, and working towards providing care at the highest level.” I echo Dr. Szkrumelak’s sentiment and extend my sincere congratulations to the winning team, which will receive a grant of $150,000 to bring the project to life. The funds will be earmarked for programs, equipment, human resources or expertise not covered by the hospital’s operating budget. I would also like to underscore that the Q+ Challenge was spearheaded four years ago by Valerie Shannon, a former director of nursing at the MUHC and Chair of the Montreal General Hospital Corporation, and was immediately embraced by Patricia Lefebvre, Director of Quality, Patient Safety and Performance, and her team. Many thanks to them and to the Selection Committee, which included four representatives of the Participatient Program.
Events
RTP Peer Mentors participate in
Montreal Walks for Mental Health mtlwalks.com on October 16, 2016
… Walking toward a world without stigma …
Peer Mentors receive their Training Certificates at the Party. 
Contact Us
Patricia Lucas, RTP Coordinator
Email: patricia.lucas@muhc.mcgill.ca