In 1999, memÂbers of The Neuro Patients’ ComÂmitÂtee and volunteers of the Friends of the Neuro, founded the Neuro-Patient Resource Centre after seeing an increasÂing need for patients and their famÂiÂlies to be able to find reliÂable information on neurological disorders.
Over the years, the centre has helped over 100,000 individuals, including patients, their loved ones, staff members, volunteers, and members of the community.
The cenÂtre’s primary goal is to help patients and their families navigate the maze of medical decision-making and provide them with accurate and reliable information.
The NPRC’s team have always worked closely with the health care providers of the hospital to assist with creating and publishing patient education materials for our patients. The centre contributed to over 50 patient education materials in the course of 25 years.
In its beginnings, the NPRC estabÂlished the Nancy PitÂfield Books CollecÂtion thanks to the generosÂity of the Friends of the Neuro. Today, over 700 consumer health books are part of this collection.
In 2024, the Neuro-Patient Resource Centre responded to the increasing need from their users to access to books online by establishing a health consumer e-books collection for patients, caregivers and staff in collaboration with the McConnell Patient Resource Centre.
The many ways the resource centre helped its community
“I am grateful and proud that I was able to be a librarian at the Neuro-Patient Resource Centre for 22 years. "How can we help you" was our Mantra. We helped people find what they wanted whether it was information on illness and health or if they needed to know about resources in the hospital and in the community.  Sometimes people needed simply to talk out what was happening to themselves or their loved one and we were there to listen and provide any help we could. I know that the resource centre helped many people during my years there and I feel that it was truly meaningful to be able to participate in the fulfillment of the centre's mission.” - from Eileen Beany Peterson, Librarian (Retired)
“The Neuro-Patient Resource Centre’s staff supported my research on topics of interest to patients and caregivers and provided me with free scientific articles that were behind paywalls. They helped me navigate departments in the hospital.” – from JoAnne Mosel
“Patient Empowerment begins with a library filled with the latest approved research that presents accurate medical information. The resource centre offers such a precious gift to the patients, families and to the community. The staff can rely on a professional librarian to guide our Neuro patients as they face their challenges. Communication is the key to patient empowerment.” – from Maria Mastracchio
“I served as a volunteer with Friends of the Neuro for nearly two decades, through the 1990s and 2000s. In 1999, our team launched the Patient Resource Centre in fond memory of one of our leading, longtime members, Nancy Pitfield. Initially, the centre offered a quiet space with books and other reading material, but by the late 2000s, we had installed computers for our patients and families to use for research and for entertainment. Beany Peterson did a wonderful job helping patients who were able to come to the resource centre, and their families, obtain the information they needed, either in French or in English. The centre proved a pleasant change from the patients' rooms and a wonderful place where patients felt like they were a part of a community that was interested in helping them.” – from Judy Loader
Special acknowledgements
The Neuro-Patient Resource Centre is also thankful to receive support from The Neuro and Ă山ǿĽé UniÂverÂsity Health CenÂtre, the Friends of the Neuro, the McConnell FamÂily FounÂdaÂtion, the Neuro’s Development Office, the MUHC FounÂdaÂtion, and the Neuro Patients’ ComÂmitÂtee, as well as many indiÂvidÂual donors and supporters.
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