Gatineau, March 22, 2023 – The Opération Enfant Soleil team was in Gatineau today to award $40,185 to three establishments for the implementation of their projects, which will have a significant impact on the care pathway of children in the region. These establishments are: Hôpital du Pontiac, Hôpital de Gatineau and the Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Gatineau.
As part of its 2023 Thank You Tour, Opération Enfant Soleil will make stops in 17 regions to give its contribution to major paediatric centres as well as hospitals and organizations across the province thanks to all the efforts deployed over the past year. These sums will allow various establishments to respond to their needs in a concrete way, as well as support medical teams and offer the best care to our little ones.
“The Thank You Tour is a special moment for Opération Enfant Soleil. This is when our mission takes on its full meaning as we support the realization of more than 110 concrete, promising projects that constantly improve the care provided to children throughout Quebec. We take advantage of the tour to underline the generosity of donors, the commitment of our partners and the dedication of our volunteers because… small miracles don’t happen on their own!”- Jonathan Gendron, CEO of Opération Enfant Soleil.
Wherever we make a stop, we meet the members of healthcare teams who testify to the major impact of Opération Enfant Soleil over time, but who also underline ever-changing needs, which motivate us to continue our mission.
“Once again this year, we are honored to recognize the mission we hold in our hearts for children. The instruments donated by Opération Enfants Soleil, such as otoscopes, scales, sphygmomanometers and a resuscitation table, are essential tools for the care of children in the Outaouais region. The sum of these donations amounts to $35,185 which is given to the Pontiac Hospital and the Gatineau Hospital. This makes a big difference for our children. They can benefit from quality care. Thank you to our partners, to our pediatric unit teams for their ever-growing commitment!” – Dre Dorothée Leduc, cheffe de département de pédiatre, CISSS de l’Outaouais.
Brayden Parker, Outaouais’s Enfant Soleil
Opération Enfant Soleil is also using the Thank You Tour to introduce the Quebec population to the 17 Enfants Soleil ambassadors for the cause this year.
After being born in the Gatineau Hospital, Brayden’s complexion is blue and his oxygen level is low. The health care team takes him to the intensive care unit. He is cared for and transferred to neonatology at the CHU Sainte-Justine. At just 24 hours old, Brayden’s heart scan reveals that half of his heart is not formed. So he is given medication to keep his heart strong until his first operation, which is planned at 7 days of age. It will take four open-heart surgery, scheduled as he grows, to get his heart working. The situation was very difficult to accept, and Brayden suffered from anxiety and depression. Fortunately, today he is slowly getting back on his feet thanks to the people around him.
“In the first few minutes following his birth, Brayden needed equipment funded by your donations to Opération Enfant Soleil: pulse oximeter, ventilator, mouth tube, etc. The stretcher and incubator were used to transport him urgently from Gatineau to Montreal. All of this is thanks to your donations.”— Mandy Gabie and Patrick Parker, Brayden’s parents.
Louis-Georges Girard, spokesperson for Opération Enfant Soleil, had the pleasure of meeting Brayden and his family this morning. You will be able to discover their story during the next Telethon which will take place on June 4 and will be broadcast on TVA.
PROJECTS FUNDED IN THE OUTAOUAIS REGION
To date, $1,417,274 has been donated to the children’s wellbeing. The contribution of Opération Enfant Soleil is significant, but the projects it supports are even more so. Here is more information on the projects funded this year.
| $6,696 donated to Pontiac Hospital
This donation will finance the purchase of two scales adapted to the size of children, which will improve the quality of services offered to children and babies during health follow-ups, two sphygmomanometers adapted to the size of children that will allow them to take their blood pressure, as well as two otoscopes that will make it easier to evaluate children’s hearing thanks to equipment adapted to their size. To date, Opération Enfant Soleil has donated $108,835 to this hospital. |
| $28,489 donated to Gatineau Hospital
This donation will fund the purchase of a resuscitation table used for stabilizing the condition of a child in distress at birth, while providing the ability to administer oxygen, control temperature and have all the necessary equipment and supplies on hand. To date, Opération Enfant Soleil has donated $990,657 to this hospital. |
| $5,000 donated to the Centre de pédiatrie sociale de Gatineau
This first donation was made by the Opération Enfant Soleil’s Fonds sport et santé durable, which aims to promote and support healthy lifestyle habits in children through sport, physical activity and healthy eating, as well as to foster emotional and mental well-being. This amount will allow the centre to purchase educational material as well as occupational therapy material for the evaluation of motor skills development in children and for interventions. |
Opération Enfant Soleil: all together for children’s well-being in Quebec
Unifying Quebecers around the cause of sick children, Opération Enfant Soleil supports initiatives for their healing throughout the province. Over the past 36 years, more than $302 million has been donated through the generosity of partners, volunteers and donors. Thanks to this contribution, around a hundred projects take shape each year in regional hospitals as well as in major paediatric centres: acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment adapted to the size of children; design of comfortable and optimal care environments; proximity of care, close to home and the family; innovative research projects, to further push boundaries. Sums are also donated to organizations each year for the realization of more than 40 prevention-related projects through the Sports and Sustainable Health Fund.
To discover all the great and small miracles that your generosity will contribute to this year throughout the province of Quebec, visit our website: www.operationenfantsoleil.ca.