Dr. Guy Lamoureux has dedicated over 34 years to saving lives. After three decades of serving patients at the Bonnyville hospital, he’s finally ready to put it all behind him.
Although he officially stopped seeing patients at the end of October, Lamoureux can still be seen wandering the halls of the local healthcare centre as he ties-up loose ends in anticipation of his retirement.
“I think you want to retire when they’re sad to see you go, not glad to see you go,” he told the Nouvelle. “I see a lot of doctors who have been amazing physicians in their time and they’ve done incredible work but they don’t know when to quit.”
Lamoureux has been working as a physician for the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre since August 1985, after falling in love with the community a few years prior.
In 1983, Lamoureux joined the ranks of the Bonnyville hospital for locum work, filling in wherever he was needed when doctors were on holiday or taking sick leave.
“I had come here just to fill in and no one had said anything about looking for new doctors and then they called me up one day and said, ‘let’s go for lunch.’ He asked for two tables, we sat down in one and on the other one he rolled out the plans for the new hospital,” detailed Lamoureux. “Then we started chatting about how most of the doctors here (at the time) were going to be retiring or leaving and they were building this brand new facility, and if they could recruit the right kinds of physicians it could be a great place to work.”
Lamoureux grew up in Fort Saskatchewan before attending the University of Alberta where he completed two years of science. His next step in post-secondary education was towards a career in veterinary medicine, but after a year of studies, he decided to make a change.
“I think I went into veterinary medicine because my father was in it and I knew that area, but once I did one year of it I realized it wasn’t for me so I switched over to medicine and I had no regrets for making that decision,” expressed Lamoureux. “It’s been a very good career. It’s been interesting. It’s a career you can go anywhere and do… although in the end I did stay in one town the whole time.”
He added, “There was a lot of flexibility in the job, and there was a lot of opportunity to do as much or as little as you wanted.”
After finishing his training and residency in medicine in Calgary, Lamoureux spent three years completing locum work.
“It gave me a chance to try working in the city and working in the country, and I definitely liked the country much more, but I didn’t feel like I was well enough trained for everything you have to deal with out here,” Lamoureux explained.
Once Lamoureux wrapped up one more year of training, he packed his bags and joined the Bonnyville hospital staff.
Lamoureux preferred the hustle and bustle a career at a rural hospital would bring, compared to some of the larger city centre facilities.
“It’s like night and day. In the city you’re going to be in your office and if someone has chest pain or they break an arm or leg, they don’t come to your office, they go straight to emerge. Here, we’re also the emerge doctors, so you have to be able to deal with heart attacks, fractures, and trauma, so if a vehicle rolls, you’re going to be looking after that,” Lamoureux stated.
He continued, “It gets much more complex, whereas in the city, most general practitioners either don’t work in the hospital at all or they work as hospitalists, so they look after various aspects of a patient’s care that specialists don’t do, but they’re rarely the main caregiver for the patients. Out here, it’s all general practitioners that are the main caregivers to the patients in hospitals… It’s much more stressful, demanding on your time and ingenuity, but I think it’s also much more rewarding.”
From delivering babies and healing broken bones to anesthesiology, Lamoureux has experienced it all.
“I’ve done a lot of different things over the years,” he laughed.
Throughout his time at the hospital, Lamoureux has assisted thousands of patients, but it’s always the ones “you miss the boat on” that leave a lasting impression.
“Those haunt you a little bit, even years after,” Lamoureux described.
However, looking back, there is one particular case that stands out.
This patient, Lamoureux said, had his heart stop five times, and each time they managed to get it started again.
“By the time we had done everything and he was leaving for the city… we were looking for a pole for his IV and he said ‘oh, I’ll hold that,’ and he was just there holding his own IV bag after being resuscitated five times,” reflected Lamoureux. “He went to the city and had the (surgery) done and came back and was doing well.”
It’s celebrating the successes, his fellow physicians, hospital staff, and community that Lamoureux will miss the most.
Helping others “makes you feel good,” Lamoureux said.
Alex Smyl was the site administrator for the hospital for 22 years of Lamoureux’s career.
He described the physician as someone who always put his patients first.
“He will be remembered as a doctor that always wanted to bring quality healthcare to the rural area,” Smyl expressed. “He’s a very open-minded individual, and he’s a good listener. God gave us two ears and one mouth and he made sure he used his two ears first.”
Smyl said Lamoureux “stood up for Bonnyville,” and was a major advocate for rural Alberta receiving the same quality of health care as urban hospitals.
“He deserves a good retirement, he spent many hours away from his family to spend time in the hospital working and helping the people there,” he continued.
Current facility medical director for the Bonnyville Healthcare Centre, Travis Webster said, “Dr. Lamoureux has been a mentor to myself and many physicians in our community. His commitment to Bonnyville and the region exemplifies what we all strive to be as physicians.”
With 34 years as a physician behind him, Lamoureux is looking forward to travelling, spending time with his grandchildren, and working on his acreage in the MD.
“I enjoy hiking, so I would like to check off some of the great hikes in the world before my knees or back give out,” laughed Lamoureux.
Sitting at his nearly empty office at the hospital, Lamoureux offered a word of thanks to the community that he said has treated him “like a king.”
“This has been an amazingly supportive environment all the way around.”
