Ask a Doctor
A Q & A with Dr. Matthew Myatt – Chief of Emergency Medicine at SMH (MPH, MD, CCFP)
What led you to practice at Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH)?
Two things, the location and the people.
At the time, I was working as a medical resident in Sudbury and my wife Nicole and I drew a circle around the geographical area in which we’d like to live and started to visit some hospitals. I did a rotation with Dr. Oswaldo Ramirez at SMH and was immediately drawn to the people. Nicole and I really liked the community so we decided to move our family here in 2011 and later in 2015, I became the Chief of Emergency Medicine.
What do you find to be the most rewarding part of your job?
The people. I get to work with the greatest nurses and support staff on earth and you can quote me on that. Being at SMH is like working with your family. We have a really supportive physician group and administration. And since we’ve made Alliston our home and we’re raising our children here, our family has a really strong connection to this community and the hospital.
What would a redeveloped hospital mean to you? And the many patients that you care for?
Having a redeveloped hospital would be like a whole new world. We would be able to serve more people, decrease wait times and significantly improve the patient experience. It would revolutionize the way we provide care and help set a new standard of care for community hospitals.
When I first came to SMH seven years ago in 2011, we were caring for about 28,000 patients a year in our ED. Now we’re caring for over 38,000 patients a year and not only is the volume of patients increasing, but so is the level of acuity (essentially how sick the patients are). The acuity of the patients is measured by their Canadian Triage & Acuity Scale, (CTAS) score, with Level 1 patients being the most critical. Last year we cared for 100 more CTAS Level 1 patients than the year before, demonstrating a clear and urgently increasing need for redevelopment.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Everyone deserves the best care, close to home. That’s why the role of a community hospital is so vital and here at SMH we strive to provide the highest level of compassionate, expert care to each and every patient who needs us.
