CHU designation takes centre stage at JGH’s 92nd anniversary celebration

Hospital recognized for excellence—and potential—in clinical care, research, teaching and innovation

On October 8, as JGH leaders and staff dropped by Carrefour Lea Polansky throughout the day to participate in the hospital’s anniversary festivities, two key numbers loomed large:

92: That’s how many years have passed since the doors to the JGH were opened at a ceremony overseen by the Governor General of Canada and the Mayor of Montreal.
1: This was the first year the celebration commemorated not just the hospital’s birthday, but its newly minted status as a centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU), as reflected in its modified name, the Jewish General Hospital University Health Centre.

Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg addresses staff at the anniversary celebration. (Click on this or any photo to enlarge it.)

As Health Minister Sonia Bélanger explained at a news conference at the hospital in July, being named a CHU means the JGH is regarded as a leader in specialized and ultra‑specialized care, research, teaching, knowledge transfer and innovation.

This benefits patients not only in the Santé Québec West‑Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network (where the JGH plays a pivotal role), but across the province’s public healthcare system.

“Designation as a centre hospitalier universitaire signifies well deserved recognition of the Jewish General Hospital for the excellence, expertise and leadership that it has demonstrated over a period of many years,” the minister said.

Staff turn out by the hundreds

To mark the double celebration in Carrefour Lea Polansky, staff began lining up for breakfast at 7:00 a.m., and before long, a long line was snaking into the main aisle of the cafeteria. By 4:00 p.m., when the festivities ended, hundreds of people had dropped by.

Staff by the hundreds turned out for the celebration in Carrefour Lea Polansky, lining up as early as 7:00 a.m.

They turned out not just for the meals and snacks, but for skill-testing games (with over 100 prizes up for grabs), a photo booth with take‑home pictures, live piano music, and a display—on video and in poster-sized photos—of key moments in JGH history.

To spread the word about the hospital’s name change, many members of staff also received lanyards emblazoned with the new wording.

A highlight came around noon, when staff gathered to watch Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, President and CEO of the Santé Québec West-Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network, cut a three-tiered birthday cake. Afterwards, slices were distributed to those in attendance.

A breakfast extravaganza

“Let me say plainly what this CHU designation is, ” Dr. Lawrence told the crowd. “It is not a gift and it is not a change of direction.

“It is recognition of what the institution has been for a very long time: a place where exceptional care, teaching, research and innovation happen under one roof every day. The title has simply caught up with you.”

Dr. Rosenberg also praised employees—past and present—whose hard work and dedication had made the designation possible: “It was earned at the bedside at three in the morning.

“It was earned in the laboratory, in the classroom, in the clinic, in the kitchen and in the corridors by generations of people who refused to lower the bar. Many of them are no longer with us. Today is theirs, as well.”

A rare honour

The honour of being named a CHU is so rare that it was last bestowed on a Quebec healthcare facility more than 40 years ago, said Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, President and CEO of the Santé Québec West-Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network.

Crowds packed Carrefour Lea Polansky for most of the day.

Dr. Rosenberg noted that while the JGH “has always had a reputation that put us on a comparable level with the best academic institutions in the world,” the CHU designation brings with it the distinction of official acknowledgement.

“The current generation of those who work here in every area should be extremely pleased and proud to have been recognized for their outstanding work and the exceptional contributions that they make,” he said.

To Nhu Nguyen, Director of Learning Partnerships and Knowledge Activation, likened the honour to a restaurant being awarded a Michelin star. “The food doesn’t necessarily change on the day the star is presented, or even the next day,” she said. “Rather, the star recognizes that the food was always excellent, and it makes people sit up and take notice.”

Games of skill and chance kept spirits high.

Similarly, she continued, no immediate changes are likely to be seen in the way the hospital goes about its daily activities in clinical care, research or teaching.

However, Ms. Nguyen said, the CHU designation will shine a spotlight on the JGH in the longer term, singling it out for special attention in its efforts to “attract new talent, develop new opportunities and create expectations for what comes next.

“It puts us on the map, and that sets the stage for practical results that will unfold over the coming years.”

The JGH joins “an elite club”

Morty Yalovsky, President of the Board of Directors of the Santé Québec West‑Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network, called the CHU designation “long overdue,” adding that the hospital is now “part of an elite club that has proven itself in teaching, research and innovation.”

The birthday cake

Mr. Yalovsky said staff “now have a lot to live up to, in terms of the reputation that was earned in the past. But I think they’re up to it. They’re distinguished by their collegiality and by the fact that they truly enjoy working with one another.”

For Dr. Gerald Batist, Director of the Segal Cancer Centre at the JGH, the new designation brings enormous potential: “It will help us obtain greater investment, more collaboration, more funding and more extensive involvement in major projects in Quebec.”

However, he said, being a CHU also means that “as an innovation centre, there’s a responsibility to create things—drug treatments, approaches to patients, approaches to care—that are applicable to all of the people of Quebec and can be of value to the rest of the network.

“As it happens, the JGH has been doing that for decades, and we’ve demonstrated how committed we are to actively participating in the healthcare network and in innovating in a way that’s useful to others.”

Reflecting on the 92-year legacy of the hospital, Dr. Batist said its founders would have been proud to see how far the JGH has come since its modest origins. “It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating: The Jewish community sees this hospital as its special gift to the people of Quebec.”