This Land Was Made
for You and Me...
MUHC people take a "walkabout" of the new health centre site at the Glen Yards
A Scotsman plays his bagpipes as people slowly depart from the buses that took them to the second Montreal General Hospital, built in 1822, then to the existing MUHC sites and finally, to the future site of the new Health Centre, the Glen Yards (pictured above) for a "walkabout."
Led by a Scotsman playing bagpipe melodies, Auxiliary members, volunteers, donors and Board members hiked through the soon-to-be birthplace of the new McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) on June 12. As they walked past wild flowers, tall, swaying grasses, and listened to the sounds of the gentle instrument that guided them, everyone was given an "up close and personal" look at the future site of the health centre at the Glen site.
The event, which was dubbed the Glen Site Walkabout, was organized and planned by the Friends of the MUHC (the merged MUHC Auxiliaries) and the MUHC Foundation. Three separate tours were given over the course of the day-in buses-to the Montreal General Hospital's second home built in 1822, to the existing sites of the health centre, and then to its final stop at the Glen Yards, south of the Vendome Metro. During the trip a historical account was given at each stop.
Dr. Hugh Scott, MUHC executive director, was one of the people who addressed the participants. "The MUHC hospitals occupy roughly 3.4 million square feet of space-about what we had 50 years ago. But medicine and research have changed enormously and so have our space needs," he said. "This new site comprises 43 acres of land, which can readily accommodate the additional square feet required to ensure that we have enough breathing space for the next 50 years."
According to Dr. Nick Steinmetz, MUHC associate executive director of Planning, the new health centre will be a large campus setting, and in addition to more building space there will also be lots of green space. "We looked at eight different sites that could fulfill these requirements before making a decision on this one," said Steinmetz, who has been a key player in the planning of the new site since day one. "When we drove onto the Glen Yards, we knew it was right."
One third of the Glen Yards is in Westmount and the other two thirds is in Montreal. The land is a long east-west rectangle of 730 metres and it takes about seven minutes to walk from one end to the other. The rectangle is a bit irregular in shape, being 305 metres long at the west end and 153 metres at the east end.
Wherever one looks the land has an unobstructed view of all Montreal landmarks, including the mountain, downtown, and the St. Lawrence. It's also very accessible, being close to the Vendome Metro station, city buses and commuter trains, and it's surrounded by major arteries, such as the Decarie and Ville-Marie expressways, which in turn link up to highways 40, 13, 15 and 19. The site will also link with pedestrian and bicycle paths and is big enough to allow for a heliport on-site.
For donor Mary Landry, the enthusiasm, organization and expertise made the day worthwhile, while Gail Mulroney, the RVH site executive secretary of the Auxiliary, commented on the feeling of family and excitement at the prospect of a new MUHC.
The phrase that probably best described the success of the day came from Alex Paterson, MUHC Foundation chair, also the master of ceremonies for the day, who overheard someone say, "On the road to Decarie I was converted from being a non-believer to a believer."
Dr. Phil Gold, executive director of the MUHC Research Centre and Office of Clinical Contracts, and who was physician-in-chief from 1980 to 1995 at the MGH, attended the evening ceremony and remarked that if anyone has doubts about the new centre they haven't thought it over. "I know we can be far more together than we can be apart."
"I was never in doubt," said former chair of the MUHC Board of Directors, Arnold Steinberg, who also attended the evening ceremony. "It has to happen, we can't continue with sub-standard hospitals. I'm thrilled at the progress that I've heard and seen here this evening."
Marc Weinstein, director of development of the MUHC Foundation, who oversaw and organized most of the day's events, felt the walkabout reflected a tremendous spirit of togetherness in building the vision of the future of the health centre. "It's part of the overall evolution of the MUHC."
Left to right, Alex Paterson, MUHC Foundation chair, Dr. Hugh Scott, MUHC executive director, Dr. Nick Steinmetz, MUCH associate executive director of planning, and David Culver, chair of the MUHC Board of Directors strike a pose in front of two CP trains.
"Friends of the MUHC" (amalgamation of all the MUHC Auxiliaries) and MUHC Foundation members singing This land is my land, this land is your land from Decarie to Westmount Station, from de Maisonneuve to the two and twenty, this land was made for you and me. From left to right: Marc Weinstein, director of development and general counsel, MUHC Foundation; Sharon Bishin, communications, MUHC Foundation; Marcie Sheim, president of the MCH Auxiliary; Karen Fried, president of the MGH Auxiliary; Hugh Brodie, director, major gifts, MUHC Foundation; Donna Carroll, president of the MCI Auxiliary; Sami Antaki, director of communications, MUHC Foundation; Alex Paterson, MUHC Foundation chair; and Kerry Lanthier, president of the RVH Auxiliary.
