Allyson Beauregard
MRC PONTIAC &
Allyson Beauregard
MRC PONTIAC &
PONTIAC – Ten years after fundraising for the Pontiac Dialysis Unit first began, those invited to a press conference at the Pontiac Reception Centre in Shawville, June 12, offered a standing ovation for those involved in the project when Gaétan Barrette, Quebec Health Minister, announced the Unit will soon be a reality in the Pontiac.
The province is providing $2,130,700 to the Centre integre de sante et de services sociaux d’Outaouais (CISSSO) to create a satellite hemodialysis unit at the Pontiac Community Hospital (PCH). According to Barrette, at least five dialysis stations will be moved from the Hull hospital and relocated to the PCH. The new treatment unit, to be constructed within former administrative space that became vacant after the
hospital systems were amalgamated, will be able to accommodate up to thirty patients and will create between 5 and 7 jobs.
Currently, there are 13 Pontiac residents receiving dialysis treatments; they must travel long distances to urban areas, three times a week, for their treatments. “This unit will make a concrete and significant difference in people’s lives,” said Pontiac MNA André Fortin, who, along with Barrette, described the burden travelling for treatment places on both patients and family members and friends who often accompany them.
“It is of utmost importance to underline the work of the Pontiac
Hospital Foundation,” stressed Barrette. Through community support, the Foundation was able to contribute an additional $659,626 towards the Dialysis Unit. “The amount raised in relation to the area’s [relatively] small population is extremely impressive,” said Barrette. “It speaks to the strength of the community,” added Fortin.
The approximate $949,000 in annual costs to operate the Unit will be largely funded by a budget transfer from the Hull Hospital ($599,000), while the remaining $350,000 will be covered by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The next step is to have plans drawn for the renovation before going to tender. Barrette said the Unit should be constructed and be fully operational “within months” given that “it is not a very complicated transfer”.
Richard Grimard, former Director General of the CSSS du Pontiac, expressed his happiness that a project that was very dear to his heart, and those of Pontiac residents, is finally becoming a reality. He offered “a thousand million thanks” to all those involved in the project.
