Published November 15, 2023

Grace Richards
Local Journalism Initiative

SHAWVILLE – On November 7, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) held a meeting at the CLSC in Shawville to re-establish the Pontiac’s user committee. The user committee has been inactive since 2018 when the previous members quit in protest of the fusion of five hospitals creating the CISSSO, according to a CISSSO source. With the onset of the Covid pandemic, the committee remained dormant until now.

The committee provides users of the healthcare system with a platform to voice their concerns to CISSSO employees who can enact change.

The evening began with an introduction to the Pontiac’s resource person, Pierre Saint-Cyr, who is responsible for bridging the gap between available resources and users. Local director Nicole Boucher Larivière then explained the importance of the user committee: “We’re re-establishing the user committee because it’s my job to hear your concerns and advocate for you.” Larivière shared that as a longtime resident of the Pontiac, she’s uniquely qualified to tackle the issues plaguing Pontiac’s healthcare system.

Comité des usagers du centre intégré (CUCI) coordinator Caroline Ferreira explained her role in Pontiac’s healthcare system before the floor was opened to questions about changes coming to Pontiac’s health system.

Challenges plaguing the region’s healthcare system were a hot topic, namely the lack of healthcare professionals able to work in Shawville due to bilingualism requirements, higher salaries just across the provincial border, and a shortage of housing which have made it difficult for CISSSO to attract and retain nurses. The problem is worsened by the growing number of baby boomers retiring without replacements.

Photo: Pontiac Community Hospital’s new users’ committee: Pierre Saint-Cyr, Susan Richardson, Jennifer Larose, Sandra Bennett, Shelley Heaphy, Mona Durocher-Davis and Bruno Saint-Cyr.

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