Montreal Children’s Hospital
Prioritizing Patient Experience Within Digital Constraints
Introduction
In pediatric healthcare, clarity and speed can make all the difference. The Montreal Children’s Hospital recognized that its website wasn’t just a digital tool, it was a vital support system for families.
Yet, with an aging platform and limited resources, a full rebuild wasn’t viable. That’s where Symetris stepped in. The goal wasn’t transformation. It was practical improvements that made life easier for patients, families, and healthcare providers.
Working closely with the marketing team, Symetris increased accessibility and stability, while adding key features like clinician training.
Working closely with the internal marketing team, we identified practical, high-impact updates designed to reduce friction for users and bring more stability to daily operations. Together, we focused on:
Improved patient experience
Through refined search functionality and increased site performance.
Increased accessibility and responsiveness
With mobile-first improvements.
A more stable digital foundation
Giving internal teams the confidence to support users without firefighting day-to-day issues.
The hospital’s digital platform was operating on an older Drupal version that required a full rebuild in order to update. While this transition was planned for later, this older version was showing its age. The performance was lagging, and the backend made content changes slow and frustrating.
But patients and caregivers were still relying on it to get answers, directions, and support. To continue serving both internal and external customers, the marketing team needed Drupal experts to wrangle the platform and bring their projects to life.
A long term partnership between Montreal Children’s Hospital and Symetris allowed a healthy balance of new features and continuous maintenance, maximizing the lifespan of the organization's website.
Optimized search experience
We made it easier to locate departments, services, and resources with fewer clicks and clearer paths.
New training content for providers
Launched an on-site video feature to support clinician education and reduced dependency on external platforms.
Improved digital platform health
Continuous updates and hands-on maintenance improved speed, responsiveness, and backend performance, resulting in a smoother, more reliable experience across all devices.