'Steve is the guy to call': Anglo patients in Quebec City rely on 1 man to help navigate health system

Steve Guimond may not have grown up in Quebec City, but 10 years after his move from Montreal, he knows his routes around the city much like a local taxi driver.

Cranking up the heat in the car he uses as his office on a late November morning, Guimond rolls out to his second pickup of the day — Rosalie Rankin — who flew into Quebec City for a hospital appointment.

In nearly seven years as Quebec City's only patient navigator for Anglophones, he's met over 500 patients just like her.

"It's a godsend that Steve and the services are here to help us," said Rankin, settling into the back seat of Guimond's car.

The idea of having to navigate a city she had only visited once, decades ago, was overwhelming for Rankin, who flew in alone from the Magdalen Islands for an eye checkup.

She found Guimond's contact thanks to a friend.

"She said 'Rosie, you don't have to worry about anything. Steve is the guy to call,'" said Rankin.

Officially hired as a patient navigator for English speakers, Guimond is a point person who helps visitors access the city and health system when travelling in for medical care.

Unofficially, he's an advocate, driver, counsellor and more often than not — translator.

"I'm forced into that situation sometimes," joked Guimond.

"Like this morning, the man who I was with, he doesn't speak a word of French."

Guimond's position, created by the Community Health and Social Services Foundation, serves residents primarily from eastern Quebec, including the Lower North Shore, Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands and North Shore. It was established to ensure free access to health care, irrespective of French language skill.

But in Guimond's experience, every patient travelling into Quebec City, regardless of their comfort in French, can struggle with the same challenges — loneliness and anxiety.

"The stress of travel, the stress of your health situation, the stress of getting around the city, the stress of navigating the hospital," said Guimond, sipping a coffee as he turned off the highway.