A Change in Co-Chairs at Archipel OHT: A Well-Deserved Tribute and a New Voice for Prescott-Russell
Message from the Archipel OHT Executive Committee
Dear partners, dear members of our community,
The Executive Committee of the Archipel Ontario Health Team is pleased, and a little sentimental, to share an important milestone for our organization: after several years as co-chair for the Prescott-Russell region, Sylvie Lefebvre will be passing the torch to Véronique Legault, Deputy Chief of Prescott and Russell Emergency Services.
Sylvie Lefebvre: leadership that transformed our community
We can't talk about Sylvie stepping down as co-chair without first telling the story of everything she built.
A nurse by training, Sylvie began her career at Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, working in obstetrics and intensive care. Her passion for care led her to keep growing: she earned a critical care certificate from Algonquin College, then taught critical care nursing for six years, first at Algonquin College and later at La Cité collégiale, in addition to teaching at St. Lawrence College. After earning her palliative care certificate in 1988, she incorporated a palliative care component into her teaching. She went on to complete a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in social work. Her path then led her to supervise the new Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, and later to serve as Director of Operations, overseeing emergency services, intensive care, pharmacy, day medicine, and human resources for numerous community projects.
It was during the pandemic that Sylvie became Executive Director of Prescott-Russell Community Services. Under her leadership, the organization grew from 2 to 4 programs and from 11 to 50 employees. She led the development of a community kitchen and showed remarkable creativity in maintaining and adapting volunteer transportation through the health crisis, even redesigning vehicle safety setups so people could get to their specialized appointments.
Since 2022, Sylvie has served as co-chair of the Archipel Executive Committee for Prescott-Russell. Among her proudest accomplishments in that role, she herself points to the development of a primary care expansion proposal, announced earlier this year.
We are deeply grateful to Sylvie for her generosity, vision, and unwavering dedication to our communities. We're glad she will continue to sit on the Archipel Executive Committee, where her experience will remain invaluable.
Throughout her career, Sylvie has been a trailblazer, demonstrating the impact of women's leadership in healthcare and helping pave the way for future generations of women to take their place in roles of influence, decision-making, and system transformation.
Véronique Legault: a new co-chair for Prescott-Russell
The Executive Committee is proud to welcome Véronique Legault as co-chair for Prescott-Russell.
Véronique Legault is the Deputy Chief of Prescott and Russell Emergency Services, where she is responsible, among other things, for the management and development of the Community Paramedicine Program. Having previously worked as an Advanced Care Paramedic, she now draws on her frontline experience to improve access to healthcare and advance the profession of paramedicine.
She plays an active role in the development of innovative models of care tailored to the needs of the population and the regional context. She is currently leading the development of the Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (VTAC), a project designed to strengthen access to primary care through interdisciplinary collaboration, bilingual service delivery adapted to the region's francophone minority community, and the integration of paramedics into clinical settings to provide in-person assessments and treatments.
Véronique's leadership also reflects her deep commitment to ensuring that the voices of patients, clients, and caregivers are heard and valued. By creating meaningful opportunities for lived experience to be shared and recognized, she has helped elevate these voices so they can directly influence the development and expansion of programs that better respond to the needs of the community.
Through her commitment and vision, Véronique contributes to the ongoing evolution of the healthcare system and to the recognition of the essential role of paramedicine. We look forward to seeing her thrive in this new role.
Want to say thank you to Sylvie?
If, like us, you'd like to thank Ms. Lefebvre for everything she has given our communities, we invite you to do it in a way that reflects who she is: by making a donation to the Prescott-Russell Community Services Foundation, in support of the Prescott-Russell community hospice project, a project of compassionate care, right here at home, that echoes everything Sylvie has championed throughout her career.
Donate here: servcompr.com/en/ways-of-giving
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
The Archipel OHT Executive Committee
