This text is part of the special section Philanthropy
When it was created in 1980, the Cité de la Santé Hospital Foundation took the name of the hospital. But since 2004, it has become the main foundation serving the entire CISSS de Laval. It brings together 32 facilities, including two hospitals, five long-term care residential centers (CHSLDs), six local community service centers (CLSCs), an ambulatory service center and child protection centers and youth and accommodation. “The needs are enormous. We redistribute about 2 million dollars a year in the community,” explains André Malacket, Executive Director of the Foundation.
A transformative agent for the community
“We are the transmission belt for the benevolence of our donors, some of whom are grateful for the good care they received or the support their parents received at the end of life in our palliative care units”, says Andre Malacket. The Foundation plays an important role as an agent of transformation of society. “We support projects that have an immediate impact on health and social services, both for young people (with different experiences and traumas: sexual abuse, mistreatment, drug addiction, etc.) and for seniors,” adds the Executive Director. .
This is the case of the tools developed by the association SEVE (Knowing how to be and living together), which the Foundation has enabled to deploy in the Center jeunesse de Laval. Animations of philosophy workshops and attention practice are offered to children from an early age, to help them reason for themselves, manage their emotions, develop their creativity or demonstrate empathy and openness. “These young people need it to grow in society,” says Malacket.
The Executive Director notes that the Foundation’s actions are spreading beyond Laval. “There are people from all over the region who come to us for treatment because we have the space and the expertise available. Our child and youth protection center receives young people from the outskirts of Laval,” he observes.
Listening to the needs of the field, the Foundation is determined to export the best solutions. “We are collaborating, for example, with SEVE to deploy the project throughout the network. What is good in Laval is also good in Montreal or Saguenay! says André Malacket, who is developing a collaborative approach and a vision of dialogue with other health and social services organizations.
“It is important for me to ensure the sustainability of our excellence projects and to ensure that they can also be developed across the province,” he says.
Necessary resources
The CISSS de Laval receives public funds each year, but other financial resources are necessary to meet all needs. “The Cité de la Santé Foundation helps us accelerate projects and reduce the burden on the network for the acquisition of new equipment and the development of infrastructures,” underlines Chantal Friset, Deputy President and CEO of the CISSS de Laval.
The Foundation notably helped the center to completely renovate its palliative care unit. It is preparing to support the renovation of its psychiatric units, an outpatient service unit (day medicine) and intensive care – support that could reach $6 million out of the $20 million needed.
The Foundation’s support also makes it possible to offer “little extras” to staff hard hit by two years of the pandemic (meals offered, distribution of medallions, etc.) and to support the start-up of research projects.
“We have worked, for example, on the recovery of patients with long-term COVID in our rehabilitation research center, with researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal,” explains Ms.me Curly.
The Foundation is also preparing to support the greening of the surroundings of the Cité-de-la-Santé hospital. “The building is surrounded by parking lots. It’s a great sustainable development project in which the Foundation is investing with us! rejoices the Deputy CEO. Clearly, the Foundation’s mission to its community goes well beyond health care.