Why the Hybrid Operating Room Matters, featuring Lois Scott

Innovation has long been a defining part of The Moncton Hospital's story, and in this episode of the People of The Moncton Hospital Podcast, we explore how that tradition continues through Project: Innovate and the creation of a Hybrid Operating Room (OR).

To begin the episode, Dr. Michael Forsythe, Chief of Staff at The Moncton Hospital, explains what a Hybrid OR is and how this leading-edge technology will transform care for patients through faster, safer surgeries with fewer complications and quicker recoveries. He shares why bringing this technology to our region will improve patient outcomes and help more people receive advanced care closer to home.

You'll also hear from Neil Murphy, son of the late Dr. John Murphy, who reflects on his father's passion for innovation, education and patient care. Neil shares why naming the Hybrid OR in Dr. Murphy's honour is a fitting tribute to a physician whose legacy continues to inspire the future of health care in our community.

The episode concludes with a conversation between Frances LeBlanc and Lois Scott, former Friends Foundation Board member, retired nurse, and longtime health care leader. Lois shares her family's recent experience after her husband, Mark, underwent vascular surgery at The Moncton Hospital, offering a firsthand perspective on the exceptional care they received and the life-changing impact a Hybrid OR will have for future patients.

Lois also reflects on her own career and the culture of innovation that has long defined The Moncton Hospital. She discusses how ideas developed in Moncton, thanks to the collective efforts of many dedicated people, helped pioneer telecare services that expanded across New Brunswick, influenced health-care delivery throughout Canada, and contributed to international standards of care. Her story is a powerful reminder that innovation often begins with a single idea—and that donor support has helped turn many of those ideas into programs and technologies that improve the lives of patients locally and far beyond our region.

Whether you're interested in the future of surgical care, inspired by stories of innovation, or curious about the impact of philanthropy, this episode highlights how today's investments are shaping the future of health care for generations to come.

To support Project: Innovate and learn more about the Hybrid OR, go to: https://friendsfoundation.ca/one-time-donation/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Hello, friends. Welcome to the People of the Moncton Hospital Podcast. Hosted by the Friends of the Moncton Hospital Foundation, the podcast aims to create a space where stories come to life and the people behind the care take center stage. I'm Francis LeBlanc, President and CEO of the Friends Foundation, and I'll be your host today. This month we're shining a spotlight on Project Innovate, our campaign to bring a hybrid operating room to the Moncton Hospital and to transform the future of surgical care for patients across New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Northern Nova Scotia. Before we begin today's conversation, I'd like to let our listeners know that this episode brings together several voices, each sharing a unique perspective on why this project matters. You will hear first from Dr. Forsyth, Chief of Staff at the Moncton Hospital, who explains how a hybrid operating room will improve access to advanced life-saving care for patients and families throughout our region. You will also hear from Neil Murphy, the son of the late Dr. John Murphy. Neil reflects on his father's lifelong commitment to innovation and healthcare, and why naming the hybrid OR in his honor is such a meaningful tribute to his legacy. And joining me today is Lois Scott. Lois is no stranger to healthcare. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to caring for our community while championing innovation and excellence throughout her leadership. Most recently, Lois and her husband Mark experienced our healthcare system from a very different perspective. When Mark underwent vascular surgery performed by Dr. Christus Lucas at the Moncton Hospital.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

I'm Mike Forsyth, Chief of Staff, Moncton City Hospital. So the hybrid OR at the Moncton City Hospital will allow us to do interventional, minimally invasive work in this setting of a true operating room, which will uh advance the care of both vascular and neurovascular patients in our institution. The plans for the hybrid OR have been in the works for about a decade, and certainly we are looking at you know recruiting and retaining vascular surgeons and are expanding our neurovascular program at the hospital. And this theater will, an operating room, will allow us to recruit new new uh surgeons, retain surgeons, as well as nursing staff associated with the operating room. So John was a true leader, great surgeon, mentor, and a great friend of mine. One of the last executive orders that John wrote at the hospital before he passed 10 years ago was to build a hybrid OR at our hospital with regards to recruitment, retention, advancement of minimally invasive surgery in a safe environment at our hospital. John was a mentor to me, and I think this project was a dream of his. And to have it come to fruition under my leadership is really a, you know, it's it's a dream come true for John and for me.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

My name's Neil Murphy, and I'm John Murphy's son. So the role my father played in the hospital, um, he was a senior vascular surgeon. He played one where he was not only working in vascular surgery, but he was also a mentor to a lot of the um surgical uh interns here. Um I know that he was respected by a lot of the nurses. Um, you know, he really presented the hospital with someone who not only had sort of a technical excellence, but also um understood the importance of patient care. And I think that was reflected in his work. For my dad, I think a lot of it was patient care, I think was the core of a lot of his um his work. Patients always felt that there was a sense of calm when dad was was there. Um I think he understood that a lot of these people were in difficult situations, um, and a lot of these situations were probably they could be in a bad place, and I think he understood that you know a calm hand and a calm demeanor would go a long way in sort of allowing them to have a sense that this might this could be okay. And I think for him that was more the probably the most important thing. I think he understood the importance um of doing a good job, but I think at the core of it he was really concerned about his patients, and I think that's reflected in a lot of his work. I mean, the hybrid OR, I know that he would be thrilled. Um, I think not only from a perspective of advancement from the hospital, from a technical perspective, uh, but again, uh the involvement for patient care, I think, is what he would be most excited about. Um, he understood that um, you know, advancement in these fields is important, um, and he was a big advocate for continuous learning throughout his whole life, almost in anything he did. So having this sort of advancement and this vehicle for um medical care, I think he would be very excited about that. He was so much to so many people. I mean, he was obviously a surgeon here and a doctor, but he was, you know, he was a father, he was a neighbor, he was um a friend, he he had so many people that he touched in his life, and he he was such a big advocate for community and bringing people together, and I think this this sort of project, the way it's developed, has is a reflection of that. But you know, dad was always looking to have people over for golf trips or or have people over for Super Bowls or you know, have friends over for a pool party, right? Or have work friends over for dinner. Uh, you know, there was always something in dad's mind uh that wanted him to bring people together, and I think this is, you know, kind of a even when he's gone, I think it's a great way to sort of remember him that way. Having this type of OR will impact the community in a good way because it does show the commitment that the hospital has to the community, and I think that's important. Uh, I think people want to understand that um, you know, health care is such a priority for everyone. Um, and we want to make sure um that we're giving, you know, people in our region the best possible care that we can. And I do believe that this gives them, you know, another option where, you know, which shows that we're, you know, as a community uh behind the hospital um and that they're committed to the community and providing uh high-level care. Dad was a very compassionate and kind father. He really was. Um, he understood that you know mistakes would be made and problem solving was as important as anything, right? So he understood every problem has a solution, and I think that is reflected in his work as well. Um, but he was he was always committed to making people feel at ease. Um, I know as kids he did a lot for us. Um, he would build rinks for us, he would take us on trips, uh all these things. And I think when you're a kid, you don't appreciate all of that as much as you should. He really pushed family and the importance of family. You know, when it was brought to us by Horizon and some of the, you know, the planning group, you know, we thought it was so great, and we were really honored that Dad's still being sort of thought of. You know, it it he's been gone now a long time, unfortunately, but um his sort of presence is still here and and his influence is still here a little bit. Um, and I know that um, you know, the hospital and the Friends Foundations does do such great work and in everything they do. So we were really appreciative of um the thought and and the um you know the project going forward. Yeah, we're obviously very proud of Dad, everything he did for this hospital, uh, everything he did for his community. But for us as a family, we really got just such a great part of him. We miss him, but we're so excited to sort of have this as uh a tribute to him.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

So welcome, Lewis. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us and being willing to share your family's experience. It's a pleasure to do it. Wonderful. Many people know you through your remarkable career in healthcare. For those listeners who may not be familiar with your story, could you tell us a little bit more about your career as a nurse, a healthcare leader, and innovator?

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Before I start, I want to say that anything that I'm going to tell you that I was involved in. There were a hundred other people or two hundred other people. Uh nobody singularly does anything if they have to have a people in the team. So I just want to make sure that people don't think this is all me. Uh so I uh started here at Mountain Hospital School of Nursing in 1967 and uh graduated in 71. And then uh I worked here for the next 22 years in emergency and I had a I'm sort of a builder, like I like to build new programs and build things. So while there I worked in several different areas. One was I worked as a staff nurse, and then I worked, I ran the poison control center, coordinated that. Um I also uh worked as and did a triage at the front desk. Uh, and then I became uh head per head nurse or nurse manager of the emergency department and ambulance services. I did finish my Bachelor of Nursing at uh U of M and also my Masters of Nursing at Dalhousie. I did both of those uh while working full-time and doing part-time study. And uh my thesis at Dalhousie was um what prompts non-urgent patients to seek emergency care, which uh there's a whole bunch of reasons. Uh and coming out of that uh was the um the telcare program for New Brunswick, because I I was after I got that finished and uh I went to the Department of Health in Fredericton and I was able to uh lobby for it a lot over there. And so they started it when they started the tele, this was the first in the country that was a province-wide telcare program, and it was a it was uh very different. So we piloted here in Moncton, and then after two years uh they decided to make it a permanent program. And so I during the pilot program, I was the um I was the coordinator from government on it. Uh when we made it full-time, the company that we had the kind of the province had agreed to contract with, uh, they recruited me to run the program and develop it and all that. So I I'd started that just in Moncton, just in New Brunswick, and then but within two years we were uh we we had about uh I guess maybe well we had 14 million more people from Ontario on it, and then it just continued to go over the next few years. And so uh that went province or went countrywide. That then took me um to being involved in many other things because I did business development and I did uh government relations and I did uh clinical management, clinical you know, development. So uh I ended up um well just to tell you how much I traveled when I retired, um I had 1.2 million miles flown on Air Canada. So I was in the air a lot. But nonetheless, it was a it was a really good career, but I also had all the other things on the side where I was doing, I was chair of the economic commission and and did different things, you know, chair of the new or on the college board, community college board and stuff. So it expanded my uh horizon, but my love, when I tell you right now, after 40 some years in the system, my love is still emerge. And I I still I still go back to the clinical roots of what I remember fondly and what's the most fun.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

It's interesting you mentioned that because we met with two other alumni who talked about the level of innovation at the Moncton Hospital over the decade, like really leaders across Canada to bring new programs and so forth. So sort of finding our roots into that really long history of people coming together and sort of finding these innovative solutions. So it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Yeah, it was uh it's a fun ride. I mean, if you want to build, you can because and particularly when you start with fertile ground that has not been plowed, you know, because that's what we were like I was in the position of being able to do that so we could develop into mental health and into you know community health and do all sorts of different things.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

Yeah, so interesting. Great segue, I guess, in planting seeds. Um, part of the reason that we are bringing Project Innovate or Hybrid Aurora is the seeds that were planted by Dr. Murphy over 10 years ago and the people who also preceded him as well. Um But as we mentioned in the introduction, uh Mark, your husband, recently underwent vascular surgery at the Moncton Hospital. So I wonder if you could share a little bit about that experience. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

That wasn't Mark's first experience with vascular surgery. Uh in fact, he had in 2006 he had cardiac vascular surgery or stenting done in St. John at the health at the Heart Center. Um then 2015, uh Dr. Murphy, uh Dr. John Murphy refor referred him to Dr. Francour, who was doing some interarterial stuff at that time, and so he did the surgery then. And uh so that so we were familiar with what happens with stenting, we but this was an extensive stinting that was done this time. Um and I also uh want to say that uh I'm really pleased that the foundation is naming this after Dr. John Murphy and his father, Dr. Fred Murphy, is the one I worked with more, and uh he was uh just an incredible surgeon as well, so this is very appropriate.

unknown 13:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

We've heard of the long legacies of Dr. Fred Murphy and then Dr. John and just how they brought um community together. So they were really sort of the mobilizers, and it seems appropriate to also honor him in this way as well. As someone who's had a career spent caring for patients, um, I guess how do you experience the healthcare system from the other side?

SPEAKER_02 14:16

Does it change your perspective or just sort of enhances what you already what's really amazing to me is the technology because see I wasn't here when the technology was really we were just I was I left here in 1993, so there was technology, but there wasn't like it is now. Um so I'll give you our experience this time, like just some of the things that really impressed me. Uh and also what I think is quite efficient in some of the work processes they have here. Uh like when we came in um to have the pre-op done, we went to one site, you know. And when we got to that one site, everything was done. You know, like his ECG was done, his blood work was done, everything was done. It was just really efficient, and his assessment was done. And then when we left and we were coming in for his surgery, we just had to go to the daycare surgery area. Um so I found that like it was a really easy way to do things. And that's new, or not new for them, but relatively new for everybody. I know about it. And um, and then the next thing was the whole system of the day surgery of getting them ready for day of surgery preparation, and and you know, all the doctors come in to see them, and and it's just and the others support people, pharmacists. So I found that like a really efficient way of putting people through really quickly, you know. And then when he got to the OR, of course, I know I or the Angio room, I don't know what happened in there, but I I know about it because I've read about it, but I didn't experience it, and Mark doesn't remember much. I remember the the element of care that has taken place takes place in the uh OR waiting room for patients, which I know the foundation sponsored and put there, but it's absolutely great. And so there's a couple of things there is that um once again it's a comfort, it's a quiet, it's the uh the volunteers they're helping. Um but the most meaningful thing to me was because you don't know what's happening and how long they're there. And uh but you could see when he was in the the area, the indoor area, and then he when he went to recovery, and then when he went to his room. So I didn't have to leave that area until he was going to his room. So uh, you know, that makes it a lot easier, plus the fact you're following through. Interestingly, one of the things that one of the nurses had told me uh before we had that he had the surgery, and I was asking, I didn't know who Dr. Lupus was, and I was asking. And so she said, one thing she said to me was, you know, if Dr. Lupus is a perfectionist, and sometimes it he finds something in there when he goes in that he didn't know, and he'll always take the time to fix it. And she said, so what happens is that he may not get out as quickly as what you think he did, he has is going to come out. Don't panic. It's not because there's any problems, it's because he's just fixing everything so that when he leaves it's well done. So uh that really helped because he was late and there was more to do, and but it really helped in terms of knowing that, and plus the fact I could follow the times. So there's many things throughout the hospital, it's not just the professional staff and all of because they were fine too. They were great, they were very helpful, reassuring, and and it is stressful when they're going in for this invasive stuff. The other thing is it's so minimally invasive.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

To your point, any surgical procedures can be stressful. How did the team support you and Mark?

SPEAKER_02 17:55

They were quite incredible. Like we we had were given a lot of information when we we were in for five days. So and two of those days he was had to stay in bed all the time. So there were people around that were helping. And um but we didn't we had our needs met. Like we didn't there was nothing that we wanted, and there was there was always people around and uh and they would do whatever, you know, whatever you asked, if you needed something or whatever, they'd do it and give you information. So I didn't I found it very satisfactory. I mean I felt reassuring. I felt there was I didn't feel that I couldn't ask something that somebody wouldn't try to find the answer for me.

unknown 18:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Which is great. Often it's just that ability to ask questions and get a follow-up. Um you spoke a little bit about Dr. Lupus uh and the care provided. I guess what stood out to you about him and the team when you reflect.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Well, I think the first thing is you have to know that I I think I said earlier that I asked some folks about him, some patients who had had them and some others. And I I got consistent answers. Like, and they all told me that he was he was very special and he had some two of them as a team were were there was lots of great praise for both of them. The the people who know me quite well know I like to talk, and so they warned me with that, and they said that Dr. Lupus was a man of few words, uh, but he would be incredibly attentive to Marx needs, and that he had the ability to listen and sort of uh to what was being said and accurately assess of the situations and people. One person said he doesn't waste time with small talk, but his clinical judgment is flawless and his clinical skills are remarkable. So, what more reassurance can you want? So, and we found out all that to be true, by the way. The other advice I received was about, I said earlier, about sometimes it takes longer, but he's just finishing up and doing a great job. We found everything about him to be like high class surgical care, you know. It was he was uh he is quiet, but he's he's strong and he's solid and he he's you know he he instills confidence in him in himself, you know, because of you know what he's all about. Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:10

Yeah, absolutely. Um well it's always good to do your research, Lois. So I appreciate that. And um they one of the privileges of doing the role that we do at the foundation is to hear stories. Yeah. And resoundingly, both Dr. Lupus and Dr. Poirier have phenomenal reviews. People will come to us and tell us how they've impacted their lives, how in some cases saved their lives, and how incredible the experience has been. So to just hear that from you and uh reflecting Mark's um experience also sort of um confirms that they're some of the best ever surgeons.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Very lucky to have them here.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

Very lucky.

SPEAKER_02 20:53

Mark is now about three or four months post-op. And his he's walking without any pain in his legs, uh, he doesn't have cramps when he goes to bed at night in his legs, he uh he has no his aneurysm is stented, uh, you know, because he had two both his femoral arteries were stented as well as a renal artery, and then the aortic aneurysm was stented. So I mean he was there for four hours, he had a lot done. But I mean, if you when we end up like that, I mean he's back to being normal, like you can't expect anything better, you know, like it's it's you know, even his he's the best he's been in a number of years, so that's really good.

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah. You decided to nominate Dr. Lupus as a hospital hero. I guess what inspired you to recognize him?

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Well, all of the stuff I just said. I mean, you know, we've had great results, what else could you want, you know? Uh but on the other hand, it is I we thought that we wanted to say thanks and we didn't know how. And then we thought what would be really important to him. And it's really important to him to have that hybrid OR to work in. I mean, he's going to be moving into a whole new room, you know. Um and so we thought, well, that's what we'll do. We'll make a donation to the foundation uh and uh on hi in his name, like and um so that's what that's why.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

Thank you for your generosity. The Hospital Hero Award really touched people, you know, as some have received several of them th throughout the year and still really special. So we love hearing from our providers to say, you know, I was so excited to get another one, and it really touched me because they do the hard work and sometimes they don't necessarily see the gratitude um as much as we do. Throughout this experience, what did you come to appreciate about, I guess, the importance of having access to specialized care close to home?

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Oh, that's that's not even that's very easy to answer because there's so many things. Do you avoid all the cost and all the lack of support that are not available to you? You're not at home. Uh you have to pay for hotel rooms, you have to pay for meals, you have to pay for travel. Uh if something goes wrong post op and you got this person home, you have to get them back to the other the other place so it's travel again. And and also if there's something like a dissecting aneurysm, you're not going to make it anywhere else. You know, like yeah, when we worked Emerge, um the thing that was one of our biggest, biggest things that was a a risk of death to patients. And and we worked really hard to get them to the OR, but we sometimes didn't get them there in time. So having to, they come here, but when they get that hybrid OR, I mean that makes all the difference in the world too, because it makes that that whole process much more concise and and right together, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

So yeah, and it allows them to do the diagnostic imaging within the surgical suite instead of either wheeling them out or not having the time to do so because you know diagnostic imaging might not be available or we and we had to do all that because we didn't have it.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

And so I can't imagine the uh efficiency and the sort of improvement in care when you can just take them into one room and do it all. And plus the fact during the procedures they can look again if they want to see what's going on, you know, like so it it allows them to see what's happening at the time. So yeah, it's a it's a a a big, big advantage. It's a big advantage for patients in Moncton. And the other thing about you know, like the donating to the campaign, to this campaign, but any campaign, is that I know from past experience being on the board, we were able to recruit physicians here with very, very specialized skills. And they came to Moncton because the foundation was able to provide the supports and the equipment and that they need it. Our provincial government can provide standard services, standard equipment. Um they can't do state of art because they you know there's the money just runs out, right? So we have to find it as a community, we have to find it as people who really have some sense of wanting to contribute and and um that we support the foundation for that reason. Um because this hybrid OR, which I was here when we first started talking about the hybrid OR, I was on the board, and it was in conjunction with the uh OBS unit and with the Heart Center, and that take both of those took a lot of money. As a result, the third on the list was hybrid OR did not get started at that time. So this has been in the works for a while, and and it's very worthwhile. So I think um, you know, I think that there's so many advantages because you know what, we're all getting older, and there's more and more and more of us, and as a result of that aging population and the large number of us in it, um, is there's gonna be more need for all of this vascular surgery and and you know, like cranial, it's very important for cranial surgery as well. So I just and I'm really excited about hearing that they're gonna use it for all like orthopedics and different it's so it's got great range of you know capability of helping. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Other um departments will directly or indirectly benefit from the hybrid OR. And to your earlier point, this is about 10 years in the making, so it's part of our extraordinary care campaign. Um, so some of those funds remain available to help equip the hybrid OR. Um, but the reality is, fast forward to now, surgeons are being trained on a hybrid operating room. So it's nearly impossible or very challenging to recruit new graduates without having a hybrid OR. So it is a critical piece to not just retaining the exceptional talent we have, but to recruit the next generations of surgeons as well. So um so you spoke a little perfect segue, you spoke a little bit about the role that philanthropy can play in driving innovation. And I'm wondering if you can reflect about maybe some of the innovations you've seen throughout the years or even how philanthropy can help drive more uh people-centered care here at the Moncton Hospital.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

I think people are pretty generous. But the other thing is we all need it. Like we all need services somehow. And if we have any resources left over at all and we can support that, it just makes it easier. You know, like if I come in and I have a dissecting aneurysm, I want you to know I want a hybrid OR. You know.

SPEAKER_03 27:28

If you think about making a gift to project innovate, why is this investment so important?

SPEAKER_02 27:34

It's really because of the uh the population that is increasing and uh in that age group that requires a lot of this stuff. Now that doesn't say that younger people don't, that's not true, but this is the group that's going to most need lead mostly. And so we have to be prepared for that. The hybrid OR is creates all sorts of advantages for both the staff and the patient. And uh and so I if we can impact that kind of uh care, uh it's there's no question that it should be supported. You know, like it is it a worthwhile project? Absolutely. People have vascular disease all over the place, people have orthopedic issues, and people have trauma. And we have trauma, this is a perfect example of what could be hap, could happen that that all that hybrid OR would be you know like going in and intervening with a lot of trauma.

SPEAKER_03 28:25

Yeah, absolutely. And our hope is to help support that interprofessional collaboration that often happens between surgeons of different departments or to make sure that they have the tools. So hybrid is one of those projects, but there is certainly others in connected uh pieces that will surely come along as well. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing your story so openly and helping us better understand the profound difference that compassionate care and continued investment in innovation can make for patients and families. Your experience reminds us that healthcare innovation isn't just about technology, but it's about giving patients access to the best possible care close to home when they need it most. To learn more about Project Innovate and how you can bring a hybrid operating room to the Moncton Hospital, please visit our Friends Foundation website or connect with our team. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of People of the Moncton Hospital podcast. We will see you next time.