The eyes have it

I could see the gentleman standing in the D- Wing corridor didn’t know where he was going. Standing beside a bank of elevators with some papers in his hand he had that look of not knowing exactly where he should be headed. We have all been there before so I asked if he needed some help, could I assist?   

“My wife is here having cataract surgery,” the outgoing gentleman said as I led him towards where he would meet her following the procedure. He continued, “This is certainly a big hospital. It’s very nice and very clean- the halls are sparkling. We are from Hamilton.”

John Roser explained that he retired 24- years ago from American Can where he managed the technical services department, saying “I’ll be 80- years old this Thursday.” John’s wife, Kathleen, is a patient of ophthalmologist Dr. Thomsen.

“I was quite surprised when Dr. Thomsen told me that I would be having the operation in Brantford,” Kathleen explained. “We are from Hamilton and were meeting Dr. Thompsen in his office in Ancaster. I assumed the operation would be at one of the Hamilton hospitals. But I have been to Brantford General Hospital three times now. You have a large hospital.”

As it turns out Kathleen is a retired nurse. “I grew up in Tillsonburg and always wanted to become a nurse. It was during the Second World War and they were taking lots of nursing students. I trained at Hamilton General Hospital and graduated in 1946.”

It was during one of Kathleen’s regular eye examinations that she was referred to Dr. Thompsen. “I noticed my vision was changing and when I met with Dr. Thompsen he diagnosed cataracts in both eyes. They were removed at Brantford General Hospital and I had laser treatment too. I am very pleased- he is on the ball and up to date.”  

As chief of ophthalmology, Dr. Thompsen talks with pride about the care Brantford patients receive. “We are a fairly small department of four ophthalmologists so we can adapt quickly.”

The ophthalmology program at the Brant Community Healthcare System received some special visitors a while ago from Winnipeg. The leadership of the Misericordia Health Centre, the largest comprehensive eye surgery and treatment program in Western Canada came to see our approach to ophthalmology surgery. Their centre in Winnipeg performs over 8,000 eye surgeries a year and treats more than they 18,000 patients in their ambulatory eye clinic. These western visitors came to learn about the best practices in cataract surgery and after they toured the BGH operating suites and met with staff and ophthalmologists. They said how impressed they were and described the operating rooms as ‘very futuristic’ and liked the fact that the practice here is to promote wellness as opposed to the illness approach.

More recently there have been more visitors to the Brant Community Healthcare system eye surgery program.

“Last month St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton sent their team over,” Dr. Thompsen said. “They are building a brand new eye surgery centre for all of Hamilton and they came to see how we do things here at Brantford general Hospital.”

The Vision of the Brant Community Healthcare System is, ‘Excellence in healthcare close to home.’ The ophthalmology program proves the point.

Gary Chalk is senior executive director- public affairs & development for the Brant Community Healthcare System. Brantford General is a regional health centre providing primary care, emergency and specialized services. The Willett, Paris, is a multi- service health centre providing urgent care, primary care and community outreach programs.