Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur

Hello Everyone-

I am coming from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Montreal next month to have RNY to DS revision with Dr. Michel Gagner at Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur. I am not familiar with the area and was hoping some of you may be able to help me with feedback about the hospital.  Have any of you here had surgery at this hospital, anything I should be aware of ahead of time?  Also, need to stay in the are for about four to five days following surgery, any ideas on affordable, clean and safe places to stay in the downtown area.  Also, as I have wanted to visit Quebec for sometime, I will come at least one to two days early, any suggestions on what to see or do while I'm there?  Thank you.

Hello. I believe we met on the revision board. I will also be having RNY to DS revision with Dr. Gagner in a few weeks. I know nothing about where we'll be so I am looking forward to any responses you get. When is your surgery? I have to say my favourite part of Quebec is old Quebec. When we go we spend an afternoon walking there.

Wondering from des quebecois - are the nurses at Sacre Coeur bilingual?

Hi Jennifer-

Looks like we're gonna be surgery buddies.  I don't have an exact date yet, only know sometime in early August.  When is yours?  Where will you be coming from?  Old Quebec sounds nice, I will have to plan some time to see it.  Hopefully some of the Quebec natives here can point us in the right direction.  Not sure about the bilingual thing at the hospital, while I'm sure that most if not all of the staff speak Engli**** seems pretty evident that the first language in Quebec is French.  The hospital website and their employee recruitment video that I saw on youtube are both in French.  I'm hoping my nephew who is fluent in French can come with me and translate if needed.

He said ``last week of July or likely first week of August``. I can`t wait to have a date so I can book travel etc!! I was worried about the English as Sacred Heart is further away from the border. Interesting how everyone on this board speeks English (Hi Everyone :) ). Oh, I am coming from Windsor, ON. Canada : )

Jennifer-

I tried to send you a private message but your profile is set to private.  If you can friend request me it will make it easier to communicate, and share any information that may be beneficial to both of us as we are heading down the same path.  Thanks.

done : )

You both will be in Montreal, not in Quebec City, so forget sightseeing in" Old Quebec"......try Old Montreal, something you can do in one day before surgery....or come several days earlier to get to Quebec City , another city 3 hours away down the St.Lawrence River, where lots of English is spoken as many tourists make the city their destination....

Doubt there will be much English spoken in Sacre Coeur hospital as it is very Francophone, and near Cartierville, where I used to live ..Because Dr Gagner has "opted out of RAMQ" ( the provincial medicare plan, although associated with Sacre Coeur he may actually operate off premises in a "private hospital" like my surgeon ( who happens to be Chief of Bariatrics at Royal Victoria Hospital, a mainly English but now,  by legislation  a bi-lingual hospital in Montreal, but his private practice is done in a private little  34 bed hospital mainly devoted to plastic surgery, transgendering surgeries, orthopedic,  and weight loss surgery. If you have major probelms as a result of surgery, you get ambulanced back to the mother hospital which has emergency services as sacre Coeur is a major hospital...Ask exactly where you will have  your surgery.....And ask your surgeon for referrals to hotels near the Sacre Coeur in case you have to go to Emergency with a post op nastie...(.In my case I stayed downtown Montreal at the Sheraton ( comfy bedsand fridges in room) on Renee Levesque, near Peel St....only a short few blocks  taxi ride from the hospital I was to go to (Royal Victoria at Pine  and University sts) with it's bariatric centre if i got in trouble immediately post-op while staying  afew days in Montrea before heading homel....Wonder if maybe the Sheraton Four Points in Laval ( north on autoroute 15) might be closer, or maybe just as far as any on the strip near Trudeau airport ( West of Sacre Coeur)..try Best Western ( former Hilton) at Trudeau airport, as a comfy bed while recuperating is most important as is a little fridge in  the room ( to keep SF jello,SF yogurts ,  1%milk, etc)  ...and coffee making facilities so you can hea****er to make clear consome soup in the room....
Good Luck to both of you

edited for typos...not all caught, sorry!

Hello and welcome to the Quebec boards.

I haven't had my surgery yet but most people in Montreal are bi-lingual. So I would think that is the same for the hospital...but for that you're better off getting info from our friends that have had the surgery.

What I can say though is that I live about 7 minutes from the hospital and the area is very bi-lingual/multi-lingual. The hospital is bordering the west end of the city where a concentrated population of anglos live. The hospital is very accessable close to highway 13. It is about 30 minutes from downtown Montreal give or take depending on traffic.

Quebec city is located about 3 hours drive from Montreal.If you want to spend a couple of days in Quebec City I would definitely suggest you concentrate on Old Quebec. My daughter has been going for the last couple of years and has stayed at a wonderful quaint and very safe hotel right in the middle of Old Quebec. I will provide a link for you. This hotel is wonderful as you will see that packages include walking tours and a wonderful continental picnic breakfast basket is hung on your door each morning.

http://www.hvq.com/index.html

As for Montreal...where do I begin? if you want to stay closer to the hospital I would suggest a hotel close to the airport. (about a 15 minute drive)

If downtown is more your thing...so much to choose from...it all depends on your budgets.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?rlz=1T4DACA_enCA229CA236&um=1&ie= UTF-8&q=hotels+montreal+downtown&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=hotels&hnear= Montreal,+QC&view=text&ei=N102TIn6IIL68AbF05mqAw&sa=X&oi=loc al_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CDcQtQMwAA


I hope I have answered some of your question. If you need any more info. don't be shy!!

Ciao,
Ada

Thanks Ada, Which hotels are close to the hospital? I did not realize it was so close to the west border. Is there anywhere special to stay when family is in hospital for less money?

Hi ,

Sorry if I implied west border...but I meant west end of the island of Montreal. We're actually about 40 minutes from the Ontario Border.

I'm trying to locate hotels close to the hospital but the hospital is in a residential area. It is a very safe area actually and if you drive around you will see some homes that are in the millions!

My best bet would be getting a hotel near the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport:

http://www.booking.com/city/ca/dorval.html?label=gog235jc;si d=8b127f9aca210fd9fff54b18d0264467;city=-563742

This link should give you some ideas.

Otherwise you need to go into Laval and it might get more complicated (and alot more francophone).

You will need to do a bit of research and if you find something that interests you we can give you our input if you'd like.

Ada