The College des Médecins du Québec has honoured Vania Jimenez, MD, a family physician in the Department of Family Medicine who has always placed obstetrics at the heart of her priorities, with a High Distinction Award. A mother of seven, teacher, researcher and administrator, she has dedicated her career to vulnerable populations.

It is thanks to her that pregnant women in the Côte-des-Neiges region of Montreal have La Maison Bleue. Since 2007, the non-profit organization has offered pregnant women living with psychosocial vulnerabilities pregnancy monitoring as well as comprehensive health care for their children during the first five years of life. By bringing together doctors, midwives, nurses, professionals from the social services network and the education sector under one roof, this place has embraced the concept of social perinatality.

The Maison Bleue model quickly proved its worth and, thanks to the determination and leadership of Dr. Jimenez, Maison Bleue was established in the Montreal neighborhoods of Parc-Extension, Saint-Michel and Verdun. In addition to having a measurable impact on the lives of thousands of women and their children, the Maison Bleue has become a real teaching environment where residents and trainees from all health disciplines can evolve in interdisciplinary ways.

Congratulations Dr. Jimenez!

Read the original press release here: http://www.cmq.org/page/fr/distinction-presidence.aspx