Staff Spotlight
Montanna McIlwain, Public Health Nurse
Today we are pleased to feature Montanna McIlwain, a public health nurse working at Three Bridges Community Health Centre, working on the 0-5 team.
Since graduating from nursing school, Montanna knew she wanted to work in public health. “I love working in the community setting and having dedicated time with each of my clients,” she says. “I saw there was training offered and applied.”
The most recent inspirational moment for Montanna was receiving her COVID-19 vaccination and then being able to immunize the population in the community she serves. “This was one of the most exciting things to happen,” she says.
VCH strives to provide a supportive work environment and Montanna can attest to this. “I feel very supported in my role,” she says. “As a new grad nurse, having a supportive team makes all the difference. The whole team has helped with my orientation and all the learning I still have to do in the years ahead.”
Incorporating the VCH values (We Care for Everyone, We Are Always Learning and We Strive for Better Results), Montanna says the team of public health nurses is always finding opportunities to further their learning through conferences and other courses. “Changes are always being made to our model of care to make sure we are doing better and able to care for our population.”
Montanna started her role during the COVID-19 pandemic. “As we move to this new phase, I am eager to see how my job changes and expands to post-pandemic tasks,” she says.
A fun fact about her department: Montanna and her team support families postpartum and each one of them as a knitted breast on their desk. “It helps us demonstrate proper breastfeeding techniques, but this item is probably a surprise to anyone visiting the office!” she says.
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