Ottavio Rubini

Review of St. Joeseph's Health Centre

Wow! What a dump. Unbelievable when you compare th...

Wow! What a dump. Unbelievable when you compare this hospital to those in Peel or Halton Regions. My parents are in Etobicoke so they're always booked to come here, so I had no choice in terms of health care.

Okay, so when I take my elderly in-laws to, say, Trillium or Oakville Memorial or Credit Valley Hospital...there is always a volunteer or staff member insisting on a wheel chair for your loved one. Not here - you're on your own with these poor shuffling parents along at a snail's pace. Something out of The Gulag Archipelago. And that's just for starters. You get depressed and frustrated...fast!

Parking? Holy Moly! You're double-parked and have to leave your keys with the parking attendant. If that's not bad enough, you have to find him so he can move cars around for you to make space. Then you can't find your way back to your car. And that's with two human popsicles in their eighties melting away in this sweltering heat. Hell's Bells!

Then there is always a staff member who doesn't necessarily believe in holding the door open for the doddering geriatric you're accompanying and thanks to my quick reflexes as a failed hockey goalie, I can stick my hand out to prevent that door from slamming shut into my mom's face. I'm one of those super-talented people that can hold a door open for an elderly person with one hand and still clutch my hot cup of coffee on my way to my break with the other. Stay tuned for the upcoming biopic called "Common Courtesy When You Work In A Hospital".

My parents are always booked in the oldest part of the hospital, I believe it's seven floors in height. So on the third floor, it is just a mess and constantly under construction. And that elevator that would be ever so handy to transport your mom with her excruciating corns on her feet from one floor to the other...is out of order and also under repair. So off we go to find another one.

Plants are dying everywhere, window shaker air conditioners in many of the windows and what shoddy installations they are with peeling duct tape everywhere. HVAC professionals these staff members are not - so increase the funding so these people, and their patients, can be more comfortable.

But many, most, of the employees at St. Joseph's are kind of like that neighbour with the 25-year old Toyota Camry that still works. Bumps, and scrapes, and dents, and the bumper tie-strapped together...they're proud of their vehicle and as far as they're concerned...there's nothing wrong with it. It does that job reliably. When your turn finally comes up to see the geriatric physician (tell me, which appointment is on-time nowadays?) there is a level of care that changes my mind about St. Joseph's.

You know, warts and all, there are people at St. Joseph's who are friendly and do care about their patients. Visiting St. Joseph's is like hanging around Grossman's Tavern in Toronto. You know the place is a dump, but there's just something about it that, in the end, it's not that bad.

These people work hard in a hospital built in the Victorian era.

Mr. Ford and Mr. Tory? Don't worry so much about the illegal marijuana dispensaries and get some badly needed funding for St. Joseph's Health Centre. It's super-busy now and there is paltry parking and you guys, the baby boomers, are just coming around the bend to needing this place. And there are 8 million in your generation. So get cracking.

1 out of 5 for decor and upkeep, but a 5 out of 5 for the staffing at St. Joseph's (except for the chicks with the coffees not holding the door open for elderly people). Let's average it out to a 3/5 which is consistent with your existing reviews.

And do you know what? After all this? We were three floors down from where both my wife and I were born!