Do you have a thirst for life? I know I do, and then some! I hope I can continue enjoying life and good health for as long as possible. Lately, I’ve come to realize that I can’t do all that by myself.

Like everyone, my health depends on a multitude of factors: proper care, qualified health professionals, good equipment, etc.

Thanks to the Gatineau Health Foundation, I can get involved and make a difference. That’s why I joined the Board of Directors over 10 years ago and have been acting as its president since 2015.

In my capacity as President, I am fortunate to be able to count on the expertise of the Board’s group of 12 capable administrators. Together, we are empowering the Foundation to achieve its mission to the fullest possible extent. The Board members’ work has important repercussions for all of us, and in recognition of their dedication to our great cause, it will be my privilege to introduce them to you in future editions of our newsletter.

Thank you for placing your trust in us. Like you, I support the Gatineau Health Foundation, both as a donator and as a volunteer, and I know that by joining forces, we are contributing to improved healthcare right here in our Outaouais region.

Louise Poirier, President of the Board of Directors

I am proud to have been involved with the Gatineau Health Foundation for more than 12 years. Health care is a universal concern that affects all of us, and that’s why it’s important for me to get involved with the Foundation. With nearly 30 years of expertise in the world of finance, I am proud to contribute to the optimal and prudent management of the Foundation’s assets and I always strive to maximize access to quality care in the various service areas covered at the CISSS de l’Outaouais. Furthermore, in my continuing mission as President of the Planned Donations Committee for the past two years, I deeply value the important consulting work our Committee can accomplish with donors. By helping them optimize their donations and achieve tangible results in our community, we are showing that finance can be a powerful tool for philanthropy !

Over the past several years, I have witnessed the direct impact we are having on patients and caregivers alike. On a personal level, I was deeply moved to see our projects deliver significant improvements to pediatric care and mental health care for our region’s youth. For example, the Gatineau Health Foundation contributed $350,000 to the Youth Protection Branch’s efforts to enlarge the residential rehabilitation campus for youth at risk on Freeman Road. Not to mention Brao, the new emotional support dog now providing companionship to children and teenagers in need! These are just two examples of impactful projects improving the services offered here in our beautiful region. After all these years, I am still amazed by the generosity of our donors and by the impacts their contributions can have on the lives of so many suffering people.

THANK YOU!

– Sophie Lemaire, Board Vice-President

I have been a proud member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors for almost five years. I accepted without a moment’s hesitation. As an emergency room physician for nearly 23 years, I don’t think I have to tell you that healthcare is near and dear to my heart. My experience on the ground as a doctor has helped me truly appreciate all the great work the Foundation is doing. I have personally seen how the Foundation’s support can lead to better care, with our patients benefiting tremendously as a result. I am now putting my medical expertise to use by helping the team identify and understand the needs of our hospitals and our population.

I feel privileged to work with our region’s exceptional donors and incredible people. Among other things, your donations are making it possible to operate on patients with aortic aneurysms and send them home in record time for recovery. We are actually the first to benefit from this new technology! I am proud to be part of the Foundation’s dedicated, dynamic team, just as I am also proud of our region’s population for their great generosity and engagement.

– Dr Josée Bussières, Administrator, Doctor, Outaouais CISSS

I have been a proud member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors for almost five years. As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), I am actively envolved in ensuring the Foundation’s sound financial management. Amongs other things, I chair the Investment Committee and sit on the Audit Committee.

By leveraging our Foundation’s efforts, the CISSS can carry out projects aimed at improving the Outaouais region’s healthcare system. The respirology clinic and a new nursing home are just a few examples of projects that could not have succeeded without the Foundation.

Our Foundation also offers ordinary citizens a way to make a difference. I am happy to be a part of it, both as a donor and as a member of its Board of Directors, and I consider it my privilege to support the Foundation’s exceptional contributors to ensure we continue delivering on our mission.

– Charles Beaudoin, Administrator, President, Divalco

In the wake of the 2015 reform of the health and social services system, the Centres jeunesse de l’Outaouais (CJO) disappeared as a legal entity. As a result, the CJO Foundation lost it mandate and had to be disbanded. As Executive Director of the Centres jeunesse de l’Outaouais, I had previously been tasked with managing the CJO Foundation along with a Board of Directors. Accordingly, I had to make the decision to dissolve the CJO Foundation and join the Gatineau Health Foundation (GHF). I retired from the health and social services system on April 1,²⁰¹⁵, and after 37 years of working with youths at risk and in need of protection in our region, I decided to join the GHF Board of Directors.

At the Gatineau Health Foundation, health is envisioned through a holistic approach. This allows us to take into account the entire spectrum of needs of youths at risk and in need of protection as evidenced by recent investments in the region’s rehabilitation centres and youth protection services.

My experience and knowledge of health and social services are useful assets when it comes to identifying our population’s needs and prioritizing projects to be implemented. I am playing a very active role in our Joint Philanthropic Coordination Committee to ensure strategic integration and effective communication with the CISSS de l’Outaouais, in addition to my work on the Human Resources Committee.

I am proud to be part of the Foundation’s team of dynamic administrators and staff, and I feel privileged to be able to witness incredible donors and citizens doing their part to make a real difference towards better health and social services for everyone in the Outaouais region.

In these times of shared hardship, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the tremendous efforts and courage of all the employees at the CISSS de l’Outaouais and the Gatineau Health Foundation.

Thank you, and stay strong!

– Luc Cadieux

As Secretary of the Executive Committee, I consider it my privilege to be able to help improve our health care system RIGHT HERE, IN OUR REGION. I have lived on both sides of the Ottawa River. After my arrival in Gatineau in 2015, I became actively engaged with the Foundation, though it was only in 2017 that my contribution took on a more definite shape.

I first joined the Commercial Activities Committee and worked to make sure the Foundation was operating efficiently; then, over a year ago, I took on a secretarial role to ensure information is properly transmitted and shared, a crucial concern for our organization. to ensure information is properly transmitted and shared, a crucial concern for our organization. With an MBA in Community Well-being, I can also help the Board thanks to my entrepreneurial skills as well as my extensive experience in various management and leadership positions.

Community development must always take into account a variety of factors—economic improvement, community organization and land development, for instance. In today’s society, especially in the Outaouais region, I firmly believe that health care is one of those important factors, perhaps even the most crucial one.

My engagement with the Foundation stems from an intimate conviction that health is our most cherished possession, and that it is truly a universal issue that affects everyone.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire administrative team and all the volunteers whose day-to-day work makes the Foundation a powerful force for health care and an inspiring symbol for the community.

Bettyna Bélizaire

I joined the Gatineau Health Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2019, and my experience has been nothing but positive ever since. As soon as I started getting involved with the Foundation, I discovered an innovative, results-oriented organization driven by a profoundly committed team and supported by scores of dedicated professionals and volunteers.

As a lawyer working in labour law and a managing partner at an Outaouais law firm, I am pleased to put my management and legal expertise to good use for the Foundation, notably as President of its Human Resources Committee.

As a native of the region and an occasional beneficiary of our health care system, I feel personally compelled to help the Foundation achieve its mission and deliver positive impacts for the health and well-being of the Outaouais community.

In good times and bad – such as the birth of my three children or the loss of a loved one, respectively – I have witnessed firsthand the importance of helping our health care network carry out projects that have direct or indirect impacts on the people in the region. The Foundation has achieved some truly exceptional results, none of which would have been possible without the generosity of our many donors.

I am honoured to be able to help the Foundation achieve its mission, and I hope that more and more people will get involved to empower even more great initiatives in the coming years. In closing, I would like to thank all the health care professionals working tirelessly during this pandemic period. You are true heroes.

Nadine Bigras

Health is the most important thing of all… as I was brutally reminded by the onset of cancer at the age of 28. When that kind of disease comes into your life, it has a way of forcing you to reconsider all your priorities. I realized that what mattered most to me was health, my relationship, financial security, personal and professional achievements, and mutual aid.

There was a time when I used to think that our taxes were surely more than enough to fund our health care system. I now know that while taxes may be enough to ensure the most basic services, this financing is becoming less and less viable given the enormous financial pressures our system is facing. I still benefit from our publicly funded health services, and it is my deeply held conviction that we must continue to improve the availability and quality of those services. I’ve witnessed the huge difference that donations from the public are making, especially when it comes to increasing the efficiency and range of services and ensuring we have access to the latest technologies. I am very grateful to the donors.

Ever since my illness, I have made a habit of donating to the Foundation every year.

Working as a management consultant since my retirement from the federal public service has left me with more time to volunteer over the past 5 years. In 2017, I offered to bring my expertise in various areas of public and not-for-profit management to the Foundation’s Board of Directors and its audit and governance committees. Innovation and the continuous improvement of management practices have always a central part of my work, both as a consultant and as a strategic and results-based management executive.

It is my privilege to directly and indirectly support the Foundation’s employees and the CISSSO’s staff, who are dedicated to improving health care and social services in our region. Working alongside the wonderful volunteers at the Foundation’s various fundraising events has also been and incredibly exciting and gratifying experience.

My parents have taught me that if an issue is really important to you, just talking about it is not enough — you need to act on it. Keeping that lesson in mind, I am honoured to be able to work with the Gatineau Health Foundation, an organization that has tangible, positive impacts on our region’s quality of life.

Jean Tourigny

 

It is a privilege for me to sit on the Board of Directors of the Gatineau Health Foundation since 2019. I am honoured to be part of a team of diverse, experienced professionals committed to improving our region’s healthcare services. I take great pleasure in putting my legal expertise as a notary to good use by supporting the Foundation, both as an administrator and as a member of the Planned Donations Committee.

The COVID-19 pandemic has helped me realize more than ever just how critical the Foundation’s work is to improve the quality of healthcare in the Outaouais region. I am particularly proud of the major donations secured by the Foundation to establish the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which provides security, comfort and hope to the employees and patients of the CISSS de l’Outaouais during this pandemic period.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the members of the CISSS de l’Outaouais team and the Foundation’s staff, who are working tirelessly for our region’s citizens during this difficult time.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the members of the CISSS de l’Outaouais team and the Foundation’s staff, who are working tirelessly for our region’s citizens during this difficult time.

Mathieu Turpin

Je suis venu m’installer en Outaouais il y a quelques années pour y ouvrir mon restaurant le Buffet des Continents. Comme entrepreneur, je trouve important de poser des actions qui permettent de redonner à la communauté. C’est pourquoi j’encourage mon équipe à s’impliquer et que nous réalisons des levées de fonds qui nous permettent de faire une différence autour de nous. Je suis d’ailleurs très reconnaissant envers tous ceux et celles qui nous supportent.

Aspirant à faire encore plus, j’ai joins en 2017 le conseil d’administration de la Fondation Santé Gatineau. J’y ai trouvé une équipe très dynamique possédant une vision qui me rejoignait énormément. Depuis, il me fait plaisir d’y apporter mon expertise dans le secteur commercial et de participer aux décisions touchant ce volet de l’organisation.

Père d’une famille de trois enfants, je tiens à faire tout ce qui est en mon pouvoir pour leur offrir un avenir en santé. Je veux contribuer à bâtir une société dans laquelle les soins de santé offerts à nos proches sont accessibles et d’une qualité optimale. Pour moi, supporter le CISSS de l’Outaouais en siégeant sur le conseil d’administration de la Fondation Santé Gatineau est ma façon d’exercer mon pouvoir citoyen et ainsi contribuer à offrir des soins de qualité à nos enfants, parents et amis.

Tony Priftakis

As the saying goes, health is the greatest of all possessions!

I feel extremely privileged and grateful to be in good health, which is why I was especially delighted when the Gatineau Health Foundation asked me to join the ranks of its Board of Directors. Much like over half of all Outaouais residents, I am not originally from here. It was only after discovering just how extraordinary and filled with potential this region is that I decided to start my family here. That good impression was made all the more striking when I met the dedicated, hard-working and inspiring people at the Gatineau Health Foundation. With more than 20 years of experience in management and marketing, I am honoured to serve as President for the Foundation’s Marketing and Communication Committee. With the recently announced plan for a new hospital, now is the perfect time to chip in and raise funds for better health services in the Outaouais region. I am convinced that our generous community will rally around this major undertaking and support our many other projects geared towards the CISSO’s various areas of service. As for myself, I love taking part in the Cyclotour Santé and giving some of my time to actively spread the word about the Foundation’s mission.

Caroline Malo

Over the past few years, I’ve made regular visits to the region’s hospitals to accompany someone close to me, who has been dealing with health issues and has had to call on various health care services offered in the Outaouais. Through these experiences, I have come to appreciate just how important the Gatineau Health Foundation is in improving health care across the Outaouais region. That’s why I decided to join the Foundation’s Board of Directors as an administrator.

I feel privileged to be working alongside the Foundation’s dedicated and passionate executives, as well as with the members of its administrative team. Our people are dedicated and talented – but most importantly, they never stop supporting the Gatineau Health Foundation’s mandate, no matter the challenges.

I am deeply attached to our region. I was born here, I went into business here and I am now president of a local consulting firm specializing in human resources management. That’s why I’m so happy to be able to support the Foundation by contributing my expertise as a member of the Board of Directors and the Human Resources Committee.

In closing, I would like to thank our many donors, without whom we could not fulfil our commitments to our partner. I also want to thank our faithful volunteers and the Foundation’s staff, who do a remarkable job. Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the teams at the CISSS de l’Outaouais who are showing incredible resolve during these very difficult times, even as they work tirelessly to ensure our health.

I am very happy and honoured to be able to contribute to the Gatineau Health Foundation’s lifesaving mission.

Mario Leblanc, C.R.H.A.