RNAO has named its first Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) Host that will be responsible for bringing francophone organizations into the BPSO movement. Hôpital Montfort, Ontario’s francophone academic hospital, offers health services in both official languages to more than 1.2 million people across eastern Ontario.

This BPSO designation comes after many years of partnership that has seen Hôpital Montfort implement nine best practice guidelines (BPG). The hospital has become a go-to source for francophone organizations in Canada and around the world.

“What RNAO has developed is a jewel for us,” says Suzanne Robichaud, chief nursing officer and vice president in charge of clinical services. The hospital continues to expand its use of BPGs with plans next year to add pain management and the prevention of suicide, she adds. “My vision is to become a lab of exemplary practice.” 

That aim is already being realized with some francophone organizations coming to Montfort, which is based in Ottawa, from as far away as Switzerland and the northeast African nation of Djibouti, Robichaud says.

This work with RNAO is critical, Hôpital Montfort CEO and family physician Bernard Leduc says. “Because we are the only francophone teaching hospital in Ontario, it’s crucial we adopt best practices in all areas.” 

That work has garnered attention, especially in Quebec, he says.

The hospital readily embraced RNAO and its BPGs because of its strong nursing leadership, he adds. “It’s a great partnership.”