Up the Gatineau! Articles

The following article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 52.

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A Hospice in the Gatineau Hills: From Dream to Reality

André Renaud

In 2009, a 10-year journey to establish the first palliative care home in the Gatineau Hills began. The result was the birth of La Maison des Collines (“the house in the hills”). On its seventh anniversary (as of spring 2026), this six-bed hospice in Wakefield can be declared a success. It overcame the significant challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as start-up pains such as stabilizing funding sources, as well as dealing with personnel turnover and shortages, which necessitated a temporary three-month closure.

As an early player in the creation of La Maison des Collines, and a member of its first board of directors, I am proud to recount the story of how community leaders, with overwhelming resident, business and local government engagement, made this happen.

This story began in 2009 with the vision of two individuals: Dr. David Gold, a dedicated family doctor at the Wakefield Family Medical Centre, and Carole Morin, a compassionate social worker at the local community health centre, the CLSC des Collines.¹ As health professionals who provide end-of-life care, they both recognized the Gatineau Hills’ critical need for a palliative care home, and they worked tirelessly to turn it into reality.

At that time, the options for palliative care were limited. End-of-life residents in the Gatineau Valley could spend their remaining days at home or in hospital, either in the single palliative care bed at the Wakefield Hospital (then known as the Gatineau Memorial Hospital), or in similar beds set aside at other Outaouais hospitals. The only other choice, aside from going to a hospice in Ottawa, was the 11-bed palliative care home in Gatineau, the Maison Mathieu Froment-Savoie.

David and Carole pushed forward with their dream, appealing to various regional political authorities, who responded positively by agreeing in 2010 to fund a feasibility study.

The study proposed Wakefield as the ideal location, but cautioned that pursuing an independent path—rather than becoming a satellite facility of Gatineau’s palliative care centre—would require a minimum of six beds and strong community support, in terms of fundraising and volunteer participation.

The study’s findings instilled confidence in David and Carole; they believed that an independent non-profit organization could indeed succeed. Their vision encompassed offering free services for residents at the palliative care home, as well as respite care to terminally ill patients in the community. The costs of operations would be funded through donations, as well as by a subsidy from the Quebec government. Volunteers would need to be heavily relied on, to support and supplement the health professionals.

David and Carole reached out to an inspiring group of local leaders to move their dream to reality. They enlisted Dr. Vanessa Cardy, another family doctor at the Wakefield Family Medical Centre; Norma Geggie, a well-known community activist in Wakefield and beyond; and Britta Neilson, a healthcare administration specialist and consultant. Soon thereafter, Denis Joannisse, a retired business person and lifelong community volunteer in La Pêche, joined the group. I was asked to join, given my background as a longtime chair of the Gatineau Memorial Hospital, and as a former mayor of Chelsea.²

In the beginning, the team met as needed, and took decisions on a consensual basis. David Gold took on the role of chairperson and spokesperson, and Carole Morin became the secretary. In 2011, “La Maison des Collines” was incorporated and received charitable status. Norma Geggie offered her home as a meeting place and became the first treasurer. I drafted the principles of governance, which included a code of ethics, a complaint resolution mechanism, and a statement of values.

Our vision was inspired by the philosophy of the reportedly first modern hospice, England’s St. Christopher House, established in 1967. We related to the following words of its founder, Dame Cicely Saunders:
You matter because you are you and you matter until the last moment of your life. That means we’ll listen to your story, adapt our treatments and advice to suit your particular needs, and we won’t stop until we can give you the best possible support.

This approach to palliative care is about focusing on patients’ individual needs and experiences, and not just treating their disease.

David and I researched the constitutions governing other palliative care homes and drafted the first constitution. Vanessa took charge of publicity, including creating a website and brochures. Britta drafted the business plan, while Denis assumed the role of treasurer and spearheaded fundraising efforts, significantly boosting the organization’s financial support.

Our team had no staff, and for the next several years we remained hands-on, overseeing various stages of the project, such as government relations, publicity, fundraising, banking and bookkeeping. Denis was involved in all of these areas, and his volunteering was recognized by the Québec National Assembly in 2024.

In the fall of 2012, the project was publicly announced at a well-attended meeting at the Wakefield Mill. At the same time, we found the perfect logo. David McKenzie, a well-known Wakefield ceramicist, gave permission for the adoption of an image he had created for a former local craft co-op, L’Armoire des Artisans.

The project began to gain momentum. Marcel Landry was chosen as the architect in 2013; he had successfully renovated a former church into a regional palliative care home, the Maison Mathieu Froment-Savoie in Gatineau’s Hull sector. The following year, Ed Brunet et Associés Canada Inc. became our general contractor. We collaborated closely with our architect, visiting and consulting with several established palliative care homes in the province.

In 2015, the CISSS de l’Outaouais³ (CISSSO) granted us an annual subsidy of $15,000 to affiliate with Albatros, a Quebec movement involved in different aspects of palliative care.⁴ This meant that we could begin to offer palliative care home visits while awaiting the completion of our own palliative care home. Johanne Lanthier, a resident of Cantley, became the first coordinator of what was known as “Des Collines Albatros.”

To meet our ambitious plan, numerous fundraising events were organized—many at the grassroots level. This success demonstrated the high level of community support we had. Perhaps the most-remembered was the penny jar project spearheaded by Norma Geggie. This initiative occurred at the time the Canadian one-cent coin was being abandoned as legal coinage, and was hugely popular. Empty glass jars labelled with our new logo were placed around the Gatineau Valley, in grocery stores and libraries. The equivalent of 500,000 pennies ($5,000) was collected over several years, with loonies and toonies donated with the about-to-be-obsolete pennies.

Funds were also raised from events ranging from dinners, breakfasts and BBQs, to golf tournaments, walkathons, raffles and concerts. A fitting fund-raiser was the staging of a one-person performance of Dr. Harold, by John Hardie at Theatre Wakefield, based on The Extra Mile, the edited journals of Dr. Harold Geggie recounting his medical rounds in the Valley in the early 20th century. A local writers’ group donated the proceeds of two books they had written and published.

These events not only raised funds, but spread awareness of the dream for a palliative care home in the Gatineau Valley. Many of these events have since become annual traditions, strengthening the community’s support further. Donations from individuals, small businesses, foundations and corporations also provided a significant source of funds throughout the project’s life (and they remain a major source of revenue), as well as bequests and legacies.

By the end of the fiscal year 2014–15, an impressive $207,223 was in the bank. However, it was clear we were still far short of our goal, with an estimated building cost of $2.2 million, not including furnishing and the cost of the land. To bridge this gap, we sought additional sources of funding. An appeal to the Caisse Populaire Desjardins Masham-Luskville led to our first major donation, a generous $100,000. Meanwhile, we had continued exploring different building sites in Wakefield, with no success.

At last, in 2016, the CISSSO offered us a long-term lease for an administrative building and its land behind the Wakefield Hospital. We accepted the offer, despite having to fit on a smaller site than we had hoped for.

With this authorization from the CISSSO, the community’s support, and a building plan and cost estimates in hand, we were in a strong position to approach local municipalities for significant additional funding. This secured over a million dollars.

While the detached administrative building behind the hospital was not initially suitable, our architect envisioned a uniquely attractive new structure that would be attached to the hospital. His design integrated the existing building, and we stayed within our construction estimate.

The building’s six bedrooms would offer floor-to-ceiling windows offering outside views, with glass doors opening to a patio surrounding the bedrooms, and leading to a lovely donated gazebo in front of the dining room. Each bedroom would have a separate bathroom and be furnished with an additional bed for a relative or friend to sleep over.

With $1.3 million in hand, the building plan, and an agreement to share some of the hospital’s services, we secured loans of $344,000 each from the Caisse Populaire Desjardins and Investissement Québec.⁵ We continued our fundraising efforts to control and reduce our debt, receiving $16,000 from Cantley to furnish a room, and $168,000 from the Centre local de développement (CLD) to purchase specialized equipment and other furnishings to make future residents feel at home.

Construction began in spring 2018. We hired Suzanne Fitzback as the executive director to oversee the operational requirements. Suzanne had played a crucial role in launching the Maison Mathieu Froment-Savoie and brought in her former coordinator, Hélène Emond, even though both had been retired at that point. Hélène developed protocols, procedures and policies to obtain the necessary accreditation, and recruited and trained nursing staff. For his part, David Gold recruited three medical doctors.

Anne Gillespie was hired as the first volunteer coordinator, and the Albatros volunteers were integrated into the team.

In the early days, volunteers constructed a privacy screen from the parking lot, furnished a donated gazebo, and built flower boxes and a storage shed. They looked after all the landscaping needs, and even cleaned windows.

This long journey reached a triumphant conclusion when La Maison des Collines took possession of the building on March 31, 2019, and welcomed its first resident a few days later, on April 4.

Since that day, hundreds of Outaouais residents have been welcomed by staff and volunteers to La Maison des Collines; in 2023–24 there were 100 new admissions reported. They come from the entire region, including Pontiac and Gatineau. About 60 percent of admissions are from another healthcare facility, with the remaining 40 percent arriving from their home. The average stay at La Maison des Collines is 11 days, with a small number choosing medical assistance in dying.

Many obituaries for those who have spent their final days at La Maison des Collines include expressions of gratitude of family members. Chelsea resident Carrie Wallace went further, and reached out to the local newspaper, The Low Down to Hull and Back News, after the passing of her mother, Mary Colleen Colligan, in November 2024, following a six-week stay there.

Carrie observed in a feature article that “the worries and fears of being sick at home just seemed to fade away, and she [her mother] blossomed into a funny, confident and deeply grateful version of herself.” She concluded that “despite the stress of a terminal diagnosis, she was genuinely at her happiest there.”⁶

In addition to the delivery of holistic and high-quality palliative care by the healthcare team, the importance of volunteers cannot be overstated. Volunteers provide an essential ingredient to the success of La Maison des Collines. They plan and cook snacks and meals, chat with residents and family members in the dining room and by their beds, entertain on the grand piano, decorate for the holidays, take on cleaning duties, and welcome visitors at the reception desk.

The story of La Maison des Collines is a powerful testament to community spirit, dedication and an unwavering commitment to providing compassionate end-of-life care. It stands as a beacon of hope, ensuring that residents and their families experience dignity and comfort during their most challenging times.

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Footnotes

1. “CLSC” stands for “Centre local de services communautaires” (“local community service centre”).
2. Over the years, the composition of the team evolved. When La Pêche residents Norma, Britta and Vanessa moved on, representation from other municipalities was added. This brought in Claude Mondoux from Val-des-Monts, and Cantley residents Brigit Viens and Amanda Mayer. Each played key roles: Claude prepared and presented the financial statements to our major lenders, Brigit helped with changes to our constitution and securing a large corporate donor, and Amanda improved our website and obtained recurring grants from a foundation.
3. Le Centre intégré de santé et services sociaux de l’Outaouais (the “CISSSO”) was established in 2015 through an integration of the five service centres of the Outaouais: Gatineau, Pontiac, des Collines, la Vallée-de-la-Gatineau and Papineau.
4. Known as “Albatros Capitale-Nationale” since 2022, this organization was founded in 2014 and is involved in different aspects of palliative care, including emotional support to patients on their end-of-life journey, respite care for their caregivers, grief support, and the training of their volunteers.
5. Investissement Québec is a financing arm of the Quebec government.
6. “Dying with Dignity: La Maison des Collines palliative care home a ‘magical’ place,” The Low Down to Hull and Back News, Dec. 18–22, 2024, pp. 1 and 12.

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Volume 52 table of content.

List of articles