Growth, Innovation, Care: Together for healthy communities

2025-2026 Annual Report to the community

Last year was a busy one for Montfort, Ontario’s Francophone academic hospital, and member of the Ottawa Academic Health Network and the Archipel Ontario Health Team. It has been more than a year and a half since the launch of the 2024–2028 Strategic Plan, recognized in 2026 as a leading practice by the Health Standards Organization (HSO) and Accreditation Canada. It’s the 14^th leading practice recognized by the HSO at Montfort since 2013.

Forward-looking, Montfort embodies its vision of a bold Francophonie for healthy communities. Montfort ranks 39th among Canada’s best hospitals out of 600, climbing 25 ranks since 2019.

The hospital was accredited with “exemplary standing” in May 2026, receiving Accreditation Canada’s highest distinction for the fourth consecutive time, with 100% compliance to Required Safety Practices.

Serve a growing and aging population

We met growing demand over the last year:

• +9% births
• +7% in mental health
• +6% in CT scans
• +4% in outpatient clinics
• +2% in the Operating Room
• +2% in hospital admissions

In addition:

• Our performance across the six Emergency wait time indicators improved, moving us from the 50th position in among 76 hospitals 2023-24 to 34^th in 2025-26;
• The proportion of patients having their surgery within the recommended timeframes continued to be better than the provincial average;
• The average length of stay in medicine was again improved compared with the expected length;
• Patient numbers at the Aline-Chrétien Health Hub continued to increase, with 80,000 visits per year, not including those of partners, representing an increase of 6,000 in one year;
• Wait times for a CT scan continued to be below the provincial average.

In March 2026, the hospital submitted to the province its proposal for the first phase of the redevelopment of the hospital to reconfigure the Emergency Department and Step-Down Unit, add beds, eliminate rooms with more than two patients, renovate neonatal intensive care, enhance teaching spaces, and reduce our ecological footprint.

Thanks to the support of Ontario Health, we launched the Recover at Home program, providing support to patients in their transition from the hospital back home, through coordinated home care. This is in addition to the telemonitoring care and postnatal home care programs.

Strengthen our social accountability

More than 1,150 employees and physicians completed Indigenous cultural safety training, exceeding our target by 200.

To improve patient experience, Montfort developed the “Osoin” approach, which guides interactions between staff members and patients. Launched in September 2025, Osoin integrates the active offer of services in French and English, accessibility and inclusion from the very first contact.

In November 2025, the Essential Care Partners program of the Ontario Caregiver Organization was launched in the 4C medicine and rehabilitation unit. The program recognizes the important role of loved ones in patient care.

An interdisciplinary addiction service was developed. The program, led by a nurse practitioner and a pharmacist, will offer consultations to hospitalized patients with substance use disorders.

Innovate to remain a sought-after environment

Montfort was named among the top employers in the National Capital Region for the third consecutive year and for the seventh time since 2015.

To implement greater workplace flexibility, Montfort adopted an electronic scheduling platform, UKG and Andgo, in August 2025. Staff members can now consult their schedule on their mobile device, swap work shifts with colleagues, and receive automated notices when shifts are available.

Our management model, combining Lean and evidence-based leadership principles, attracted the attention of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and HEC Montréal, who invited Montfort to present on the subject to hundreds of health leaders in June and November 2025.

In March 2026, the hospital and the ISM partnered with EmergConnect to stimulate innovation and respond to the needs of our communities. This mobile and online app enables patients going to Emergency department to start the registration and triage process as soon as they arrive and reduce the length of their visit.

Increased training opportunities were offered. All of the funds available for staff members were used. Seventeen colleagues completed a microcertificate in mental health with the Université de l’Ontario français, and 13 physicians participated in the new Francophone Medical Leadership Program developed with the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.

To reduce our environmental footprint in the Operating Room, we ended the use of desflurane, an anaesthetic gas that persists in the atmosphere for 14 years; and shut down the distribution system for nitrous oxide, a gas that persists in the atmosphere for 114 years.

Absenteeism and overtime rates decreased, while the retention rate for permanent staff is the highest it has been in several years, at 91.8%.

We welcomed 53 physicians and two midwives onto our professional staff, which now numbers 440 members.