Left behind: 3 MUHC departments on benefits of not moving to the Glen

Sometimes being left behind can be a disappointment.

But Dr. Julius Erdstein says it can also be a blessing in disguise.

His adolescent medicine departmentdidn't move along with the rest of the Montreal Children's Hospital to new McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)Glen site one year ago.

• Montreal Children's move to new MUHC superhospital went 'very well'

Instead, they stayed at the Gilman Pavilion on Atwater Avenue, across from the vacant Children's Hospital.

"It's the best of both worlds, and we consider ourselves lucky," Erdstein said, adding that it's great to have access to a shiny, state-of-the-art hospital just not all the time.

"We live in a place over here in the adolescent clinic where we can create a community and where it's comfortable for the teens to go, and it's less intimidating," he said, adding it's great for team-building with doctors and nurses, as well.

Finding solutions

Last year's big move brought home the logistical challenges of being left behind for the head of the department, but Erdstein said he had to come up with concrete solutions.

The new hospital isn't far away, and doctors and nurses now work ona rotation, with one person taking on tasks atthe Glen sitefor two weeks at a time.

The MUHC also coordinates video-conferencing for weekly morning rounds at the Children's Hospital, so personnel at the Gilman Pavilion can participate.

"It's not the ideal, but it is a solution that helps us be part of what's going on," Erdstein told CBC.

His ideal situation would have been to recreate the special atmosphere at theGilmanPavilioncloser to the Glen site, but not actually on the new hospital campus.

Erdsteineven has a "fantasy"locationthe abandonedWestmountrailway station at the end of Victoria Avenue.

SPECIAL REPORT:Read the whole serieson theMUHC move, one year later:

• 14,000 glitches to fix: MUHC chief problem solver on a challenging first year at the Glen site
• Accessibility issues linger at MUHC superhospital
• Royal Vic in demand as movie set as MUHC awaits sale of 19th-century hospital
• 'Are you coming? Is Daddy coming? 7-year-old finds private hospital room lonely

Closer, but not quite on site

Those who work at the McGill Academy Eye Clinic are adjusting to living in thesuperhospital'sshadow.

The doctors and staff at the eye clinic can see the Glen site from where they are located, on de Maisonneuve Boulevard,right next to VendmeMetro station.

• Adult ophthalmology department won't move to new superhospital

"It's a work in progress," said Dr. Leonard Levin, head of the MUHC's adult ophthalmology department.

His main issue is findinga way to improve the back-and-forth between the new clinic and the Montreal General Hospital, which still takes care of trauma cases.

"The last thing we want to do is burn out people," Levin said, adding that his doctors need to visit patients at both the Glen and the Montreal General two to sixtimes a day.

The trade-off is a sparkling new facility, filled with state-of-the-art equipment and complete with a colour-coded waiting area designed especiallyfor patients with sight problems.

Further complicating the transition,Levin and his team have to now see 20 per cent fewer patients, due to theMUHC'sshift of focus to tertiary care.

Explaining to patients that theyhave to go elsewhere for their eye care isn't easy.

"It's a difficult message, someone you've had a long term relationship with and now you're saying, 'I'm sorry, we can't do it anymore' it's a difficult thing," Levin said.

Spooky location

The MUHC's reproductive centre is another department thatdidn't make the moveto the Glen site, which had beenbilled as a one-stop shop for health care.

It's still on the sixth floor of the old Royal Victoria Hospital's Women's Pavilion.

The sadness at being left behind evaporated quickly among staff, according to the centre's director, Dr. William Buckett.

"They're very happy in what is the new normal," he said, specifying that the fertility clinic will move in the next few months to an as-yet-unknown location.

"It can look a little bit empty and a little bit spooky," Buckett admitted.

But he's looking on the bright side.

• Royal Vic in demand as movie set as MUHC awaits sale of 19th-century hospital

Film production crews crowd around the heritage building some days, and there are advantages to being the only clinical department left inthe old hospital.

"For most people working here, [they see]: easy to park, you go in, and everything seems normal."