This text is part of the special section Philanthropy
The donations collected by the Cité de la Santé Foundation have made it possible to support many human and material actions to improve the well-being and health of the Laval community, and even beyond.
Some people fear that their donations will disappear in the administrative expenses of the organizations that receive them. At the Cité de la Santé Foundation, donors can closely monitor the concrete impact of their donations, whether they are used to acquire state-of-the-art equipment, fund a research project or improve the well-being of seniors. .
A device to better diagnose cancers
When hockey champion Saku Koivu was stricken with lymphoma twenty years ago, he benefited from state-of-the-art treatment at the Sherbrooke hospital thanks to a PET system: a nuclear positron emission tomography machine (PET). The athlete then donated the same tool to the Montreal General Hospital. The Cité-de-la-Santé was able to acquire this precious device in turn in 2014 thanks to the support of the Foundation, and it is among the three most used in Quebec if we consider the volumetry per camera.
“The standard scanner is a source of X-rays, while with the PET system, the patient is injected with a radioactive tracer which emits radiation towards the camera”, explains Dr. Khun Visith Keu, specialist in nuclear medicine at the Cité- of-Health.
The PET system is mainly used for different types of cancers. “It makes it possible to better specify the treatment and to modify it more quickly if it is noted that the patient has not responded. It therefore improves its survival and avoids unnecessary interventions, “says Dr.r Keu.
The device also makes it possible to detect other diseases earlier and more precisely, such as infections or degenerative pathologies (Alzheimer’s, aphasia). Patients from Laval, but also from Lanaudière and the Laurentians, benefit from this device which has made it possible to “save years of life”, rejoices the Dr Keu, himself a donor and ambassador of the Cité de la Santé Foundation.
Bring smiles back to seniors
At the CHSLD Sainte-Dorothée, seniors come alive during visits from the zootherapist, the magician or the singers. “We couldn’t offer them these activities without the Foundation,” says Julie Rodrigue, clinical-administrative coordinator at the CHSLD. For people with moderate to severe neurocognitive disorder, the senses (especially touch) are very important.
“It’s magical to see our residents react to the presence of animals. Pet therapy has a sensory and soothing effect on them,” notes Ms.me Rodrigo. The elders laugh at the magic tricks and are sensitive to the tunes of yesteryear sung by the singers. “This music touches their old memory, which Alzheimer’s disease has less affected. Some start to move instinctively and the most mobile can even start dancing,” she adds.
These activities improve the well-being of residents, but also that of their loved ones and staff, reassured and encouraged by the positive effects on seniors. In addition to current aid, the Foundation can respond quickly to urgent and concrete needs. For example, it mobilized in the summer of 2020 to send donations of air conditioners to CHSLDs, in the midst of a heat wave.
Develop research in infectious diseases
It is also to respond to the emergency that the Foundation has enabled the Cité-de-la-Santé to develop a research axis in infectious diseases. “In the spring of 2020, we were designated as a receiving center to take care of people positive for COVID-19,” says Stéphanie Castonguay, microbiologist and infectious disease specialist at the Hospital. The Hospital then turned to the Foundation to create a research structure working on this virus (diagnosis and therapies). “In this unprecedented situation, the Foundation was our lifeline,” says the microbiologist.
The Foundation’s support has made it possible to set up eight study projects. The Dr Marco Bergevin notably validated the possibility of using saliva to diagnose COVID-19 by PCR tests. “We were the first in Quebec to implement this technology. In a situation of global shortage of swabs, the saliva test was more accessible, more comfortable and more suitable for repeated screenings”, explains the DD Castonguay. The Hospital was able to deploy this test in the fall of 2020 in the Laval community thanks to this project, which has had international reach.
“The Foundation saw the urgency and understood the essential role it could play in this pandemic for the benefit of the population”, rejoices the epidemiologist who intends to continue his research in infectious diseases. “We are proud of our projects which have confirmed to us that we are capable of great things in Laval if we are given the means,” she said.