Patients, visitors, and staff at Lady Minto Hospital in Cochrane, Ontario, now have round-the-clock onsite security after MICs Group of Health Services brought in dedicated guards on June 29, 2026. The move means someone will be watching over the 33-bed hospital and its attached 37-bed Villa Minto long-term care wing at all hours, a change the organization says will make the facility safer for everyone.
The hospital, located at 241 Eighth Street, serves Cochrane and surrounding communities with everything from emergency care to long-term stays. Leaders say the new security presence is a direct response to a sharp rise in violence that healthcare workers are facing across the country. Nationally, physical assaults against employees were the fastest-growing security concern at healthcare facilities in 2025, with 55 percent of organizations reporting an increase, according to the 2026 State of Physical Security Report from Genetec.
“We know that feeling safe at work and during a hospital visit is something our community expects,” the announcement stated. The security guards will be onsite day and night, covering both the acute care side and the long-term care wing that merged with Lady Minto back in November 1998.
In Ontario, hospitals are required by law to treat workplace violence as a hazard, and the province’s Ministry of Labour has been pushing healthcare sites to strengthen their prevention programs. The share of healthcare organizations making workplace violence prevention a top priority jumped from 17 percent in 2024 to 26 percent in 2025, showing that institutions like MICs are not alone in stepping up.
MICs Group of Health Services, led by CEO Paul Chatelain, runs two other northern hospitals in Matheson and Iroquois Falls. Lady Minto Hospital was founded in 1911, with its building completed in 1915, and was renamed after Lady Minto, who helped fund dozens of small hospitals across Canada. Today’s security upgrade is the latest chapter in its long history of adapting to what the community needs most.
