February 5, 2019 —

Written by Vina Cristobal 

The impact a doctor can make on a patient is significant. Many years ago, UHP Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patricia Blanchette cared for a patient during her time at the Department of Geriatric Medicine. As a demonstration of gratitude to Dr. Blanchette for taking care of her mother, the patient’s daughter gifted Dr. Blanchette with a $100,000 donation for her practice.

As the UHP Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Blanchette’s said that her “practice” is now all of UHP.  So, with the donor’s permission, she decided to use the funds when a clinical need arose in UHP where funds were not otherwise available.

When the Internal Medicine clinic in Queen’s Physician Office Building (POB) III opened in April 2018, Dr. Blanchette noticed that there was a very large stain and significant wear in the rug in the waiting room. There were also other needed modifications to soundproof the exam rooms.  When discussing the needed upgrades, Chief Financial Officer Chip Ellis reminded Dr. Blanchette of the $100,000 UHP had received for her practice long ago, and that some of the funds could be used to finance the renovations of the POB III clinic.

Dr. Blanchette readily agreed to use more than $10,000 of the donation for the clinic’s refurbishment by local contractor Tomco Corporation. The staff became happily involved with the refurbishment, such as choosing the flooring and the materials used to soundproof the exam rooms and to repair the dividers.

“The flooring is not only beautiful to look at, but it’s stain-proof, ‘floating’, cushioned, and textured,” said Dr. Elizabeth Tam, chair of the UHP/JABSOM Department of Medicine. “It’s easy on the joints, reduces sound, and prevents falls. The color and style were selected by the office team by consensus. Dr. Tam added that “this is a ‘happy place’ for both patients and staff to enjoy.”

Featured photo: Dr. Elizabeth Tam meets with a patient at the Queen’s POB III clinic.