News from Au Diapason
With COVID-19, nothing is the same anymore…
our caregivers are there for them with all the professionalism, humanism and compassion that characterize them so well.”
The President of La Maison and L’équipe d’accompagnement, Dr. Christian Beauchesne, mentions: “We have decided to protect our team of volunteers, the majority of whom are 70 years of age or older, by asking them not to present themselves at La Maison Au Diapason or the hospitals in the region where they volunteer and to stay safe at home during this crisis. On site, at La Maison, we have adopted a slightly different approach to medical services in order to make optimal use of medical resources. We have increased the hours of nursing assistants to support the work of the nursing team in the absence of our valuable volunteers. Our cooks now offer room service for patients only. There is no access to the common areas including the dining and living rooms. However, to overcome the restrictions imposed on visitors, we allow, upon agreement with us, two people at a time to use the walk paths behind La Maison in order to see their loved one through the window while talking to them on the phone. Another alternative has also been offered to patients, namely the use of an electronic tablet that we provide to communicate with their family when they are unable to visit them. Nothing is the same as it used to be, but we are ensuring essential services for the wellbeing of our patients at the end of life and their authorized loved ones. Of course, if everyone continues to follow the instructions of government and public health officials, the damage caused by COVID-19 will be less than elsewhere in the world and we will be able to resume a more normal, and I might add, improved life, because this crisis will have made us think and act differently by focusing on what is essential: strengthening ties with our loved ones and the importance of life and the end of life.”
Although our volunteers are no longer present at our hospitals and our bereavement groups have had to cease their activities, L’équipe d’accompagnement is still available by phone at 450-263-2220 ext. 35322. We understand that this is a particularly difficult time for the bereaved, but we are there to provide support.
As for the Foundation, whose mission is to financially support the activities of La Maison and L’équipe d’accompagnement, the postponement of its major fundraiser La Marche/ La Course as well as other events organized by third parties is weakening Au Diapason’s financial portrait. To support La Maison and L’équipe d’accompagnement, the Foundation must raise 60% of funds needed through its events. “We hope that this period of crisis will not drag on too long so as not to jeopardize the future of Au Diapason,” said Luc Harbec, President of Au Diapason Foundation.
We would like to thank two companies in the region who have kindly provided us with essential goods during this pandemic: electronic tablets so that our patients can communicate with their loved ones during confinement and hand sanitizer for our staff. Many thanks to Sonxplus Technologies of Granby and KDC One of Knowlton.
To support the activities of your community hospice, you can make a donation at any time by clicking on the following link: https:// www.imakeanonlinedonation.org/ audiapason/. La Maison Au Diapason would like to sincerely thank all its donors and especially those who have continued to provide support since its creation.
La Maison Au Diapason opened on April 1, 2010. Since then, nearly 1,200 patients and their families have benefited from this warm and peaceful environment. Each year, volunteers from L’équipe d’accompagnement Au Diapason make more than 5,000 support visits to service users of the 32 municipalities it serves, whether at home, the Brome-missisquoi-perkins Hospital, the Granby Hospital or at La Maison Au Diapason.