Stacie Belanger’s path to becoming Patient Care Manager at Oak Valley Health’s Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH) is uniquely personal. Born and raised in Stouffville, Stacie first encountered MSH as a patient facing a life-changing diagnosis.
In her first year of post-secondary school, Stacie was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a blood cancer that effects the lymphatic system. At the age of 20, she was treated in MSH’s Cancer Centre under the expertise of haematologist Dr. Henry Solow.
The life-saving care Stacie received inspired her to pivot her studies in an entirely new direction once she went into remission and returned to school. “I was going down a totally different career path,” explains Stacie. “And it was the care I received at MSH that made me switch to go into nursing.”
Stacie returned to MSH in 2007, this time as a student. She immediately fell in love with the Labour & Delivery (L&D) unit, where she has worked since graduating. “There is a sense of community you get being in this hospital,” she shares. “The values aren't just words on the wall. They're things that people live every time they come through the door.”
The L&D unit is a driving force in MSH’s patient care evolution. The Alongside Midwifery Unit (AMU), which launched in 2018, is a first-of-its-kind facility in Canada that gives expectant parents the option of pursuing a midwife led birth with access to unique resources and hospital support.
“I work in a program that has many different departments,” comments Stacie. “And while we are all our own department, we rely heavily on each other.”
Stacie’s distinct past with MSH has deepened her appreciation for the community’s investment in health care. Donor support enables specialized clinics, like the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the AMU, to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and be a part of expansion projects that lay the foundation for future care.
“I’ll speak personally to this,” says Stacie, from the patient perspective. “Being able to provide equipment and services so people can receive their treatment here is huge. The money is going to a good place.”
A grateful patient, and a grateful MSH Hero, Stacie acknowledges working with her colleagues is the true reward. “It's such a privilege to work here, and I can't do what I do without the team that I work with. I recognize all of them for being excellent,” says Stacie. “They make my job easy.”
